Stolen
by Aerafiel
Summary: Generations after the Omen of the Stars cats, the Dark Forest returns. Dead warriors walk the grounds of living cats, stealing away cats one by one. WindClan and RiverClan have been stolen away, and it's up to ThunderClan and ShadowClan to save the Clans.
1. Chapter 1: Stolen Away

Yowls of terror arose from the ThunderClan cats as they scattered in their own camp. The grave news had been inevitable, but now it was time to face it. RiverClan's last cats had been stolen by the warriors of the Dark Forest.

"Enough!" Stormstar, the ThunderClan leader, hissed as loudly as possible, causing the panicking cats to stop.

"RiverClan and WindClan are gone, but ThunderClan still stands! We must not panic; StarClan will come up with something!" The proud leader insisted, but his clanmates looked unconvinced.

A few cats looked to Spiritfeather, the medicine cat.

"If StarClan tells me anything, you know I will tell you all immediately." The she-cat meowed nervously, looking down at her paws. Sharpnose, a warrior tom, looked at her oddly. The medicine cat apprentice, Scorchpaw, looked at the senior warrior and hissed in annoyance.

"Spiritfeather would never hide any signs from us in this time of crisis!" He insisted, breaking any accusations against his mentor.

"I didn't say anything." Sharpnose huffed. "We shouldn't argue amongst ourselves. Where is Willowleaf, anyway?" He mentioned the ThunderClan deputy, a lean tabby she-cat. Shiningpaw, Sharpnose's daughter, looked down at her feet. Willowleaf had been her mentor, she dearly hoped she would come back soon.

"That's right; she left for ShadowClan quite some time ago…" Stormstar mewed, his storm cloud grey fur bristling. "They better not have done anything to my deputy!"

"They wouldn't dare, not with ThunderClan and ShadowClan being the only two clans left!" Flowerbelly, a white furred queen, called out, wrapping her tail protectively around her two kits, Flamekit and Tigerkit. She looked for her eldest kit, Scorchpaw, hovering around Spiritfeather.

Spottedface, the only other queen, licked her two kits Darkkit and Quailkit furiously. Darkkit ducked out of her mother's reach and flicked her black tail. Quailkit sat obediently; his cream colored fur was messy.

"What are going to do?" Spiderclaw wailed, and the cats broke out into more panicked cries and chatter. Stormstar looked down at his Clan miserably. Generations upon generations ago, when the four clans had moved to the lake area, they had troubles with the great leader of the Dark Forest, Tigerstar. They had thought he had been destroyed, banished to the edges of Silverpelt, further than the Dark Forest, to walk alone for eternity.

About three moons ago, cats began disappearing from WindClan. The Clans were on the lookout for badgers or foxes or perhaps Twoleg kits, but they found nothing. It wasn't until Ravinestar, the WindClan leader, saw his deputy being dragged away into the darkness by a dead warrior, that the Clans remembered the horrors their ancestors had to go through to defeat the Dark Forest cats.

WindClan's cats were all stolen away, and RiverClan had been next. ShadowClan cats had already been stolen away, but they fiercely held onto the belief that StarClan would save them, as Stormstar also did. Stormstar had sent Willowleaf to ShadowClan's camp in order to find out what was going on their side of the border.

As if she had been called back by Stormstar's own thoughts, Willowleaf burst into camp, breathing heavily.

"ShadowClan… is down to… one apprentice… that's all I could… find out… Midnightstar thought that… we would attack her camp…" Willowleaf choked out.

"What? All they have left is one apprentice?" Lionpaw gasped, edging closer to her father, Brackentail. Her mother, Spiderclaw, was with Lionpaw's brother, Berrypaw.

"No… they have other cats… Coldpaw is just… their last apprentice…" The tired deputy replied.

"Is Midnightstar mouse-brained? Why would we attack her camp now of all times?" Flowerbelly's mate, Raggedwing, hissed. Their adopted kit, found in the forest, Pondpaw, was hiding behind Raggedwing.

Lightheart and Hornetflight, twin sisters and the daughters of Stormstar, hissed along with Raggedwing.

"I'm sure Midnightstar is just thinking of the safety of her Clan…" Stormstar began, but a piercing cry from Spiritfeather brought the Clan to silence.

All twenty cats of ThunderClan stared at the shadowy presence of a Dark Forest warrior. He could not be killed, for he was already dead. No living cat could die under his paws directly, but they could be stolen. He was an invincible enemy, and StarClan was not sending down help from the stars. The cat in the shadows hissed with pleasure, a huge black aura surrounding him, and the Clan cats were frozen. The shadowy cat looked around the camp slowly, taking his time, breathing in every scent, and then he laid his eyes on the queen Spottedface. He took a few steps towards her.

Darkkit hissed as the strange cat came near her and her mother, and Quailkit shuddered. Spottedface bared her fangs, but it was no use against the Dark Forest cat. The only thing that sent them back was the presence of a cat from StarClan, or a cat that could touch StarClan with their own paws. The Clan cats looked towards Spiritfeather, who was frozen with shock. Scorchpaw looked utterly devastated as he tried to push his mentor towards the shadowy being, but she would not move.

"Spiritfeather, save her!" Scorchpaw growled, knowing as a medicine cat, she had the power to propel him away. But the anxious medicine cat had always been deathly afraid of the shadowy cats of the Dark Forest. Scorchpaw looked between the queen and his mentor, and made a choice.

With a battle cry, Scorchpaw ran in front of Spottedface and swatted at the dead warrior. As a medicine cat apprentice, he assumed he had almost as much power as Spiritfeather against the dark warriors. The dead cat hissed and shrank back, but he hadn't disappeared. With a quick look around the area, he leapt in front of a clump of thorns near the queen. He leaned in towards Spottedface, his breath reaching her face. She screeched in terror, and Scorchpaw ran at the warrior and tackled him into the thorns.

Weakened by the full force of the living medicine cat apprentice, the dark warrior faded away, and walked back to the Dark Forest alone. Scorchpaw lay tangled in the thorns.

"Scorchpaw!" Flowerbelly cried out, nudging Flamekit and Tigerkit towards Raggedwing before racing to check on her oldest kit.

A chill went down every cat's spine as Flowerbelly shrieked. A thorn had deeply jabbed Scorchpaw in the throat, and blood was spurted out of the apprentice, staining his fur and the thorns around him. Raggedwing howled in anguish over the loss of his oldest kit, and padded over to Flowerbelly to console her. Flamekit and Tigerkit looked at each other sadly, silently mourning the loss of their older brother that they hardly knew. Pondpaw sat next to the two kits. Spiritfeather stared blankly at the grave of her apprentice, her eyes clouded with unknowingness.

Spottedface buried her nose in Sharpnose's fur, and her mate consoled her. Scorchpaw had sacrificed himself for the spotted queen and her kits.

And all was silent in ThunderClan except for the cries of Flowerbelly.

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While the Clan slept and only Brackentail was awake to guard the camp, Spiritfeather rummaged through her supplies in her den. Behind a thick slab of rock, one carefully hidden berry was wedged between the wall and bits of bramble to keep kits out. Ignoring the scratches on her paw, she carefully rolled the dark red berry out and into the clearing.

"StarClan, you haven't helped us, why should I help you?" her voice was rough and accusing. With an insane gleam in her eye, Spiritfeather ate the berry. "I can't live anymore, with my apprentice dead and the Clans practically destroyed, there's no point!" she screeched, laughing to herself.

The laughter turned into choking, and blood was heaved onto the stone floor of the medicine cat den. The choking became gasps for breath, and when they stopped, the pale she-cat was not in StarClan, but stolen away to the Dark Forest.


	2. Chapter 2: Unsure Friendship

**Thanks for reading my first chapter! I don't own Warriors and never will, enjoy this next chapter.**

**Oh, and, anything about the Dark Forest is mostly made up, since the rest of the Omen of the Stars isn't out yet, and not enough information is on the table. Well, enjoy ^_^**

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Shiningpaw woke up to more panic. She stretched in the apprentice's den and dreaded hearing who had been stolen this time. Her best friend, Lionpaw, was still sound asleep.

"Wake up, mousebrain!" She mewed, trying to sound playful, and jabbed her in the side. Lionpaw grumbled and rose from the ground.

"Why did you have to wake me up?" She whined, but the loudness of the Clan cats in the camp told her already.

"Someone must have been stolen during the night…" A voice came from the side of the den. The two apprentices looked and saw Pondpaw, tail drooping. She was upset about Scorchpaw, even if he wasn't her real brother.

"Are we going to have to be nocturnal now?" The last apprentice of ThunderClan, Berrypaw, mewed anxiously.

"No one wants that to happen, but if this keeps up…" Pondpaw sighed.

Shiningpaw volunteered to check up on what was happening. She slipped out of the apprentice den and gasped.

Spiritfeather was dead in the center of camp. Hornetflight had dragged her from the medicine cat den into the clearing so the Clan cats could mourn.

"What happened?" Shiningpaw said, shivering. The pale she-cat had been their medicine cat since before her mother was born.

"We don't know!" sobbed Spiderclaw, who had been close to the late medicine cat.

"We'll have to ask Cloudheart how she died, there doesn't seem to be a scratch on her." Lightheart meowed sadly. "I can't fathom how she was killed."

"We don't have to ask Cloudheart anything!" Willowleaf hissed, stepping in front of the dead cat. "He's the ShadowClan medicine cat, and Midnightstar won't let him do anything!"

"If only Thinwhisper were here!" Brackentail said suddenly, referring to Spiritfeather's old apprentice. Just after he had received his full medicine cat name, he was stolen by the Dark Forest warriors. It was unexpected. No one thought they could steal a medicine cat. Thinwhisper had been asleep; he couldn't do a thing about it.

Shiningpaw dipped her head in acknowledgement of the situation. Thinwhisper was one of the first ThunderClan cats to be stolen.

Lionpaw padded out of the apprentice's den. "Who's been stolen?" she asked nervously, before seeing the body of Spiritfeather lying in the camp. "Oh… what happened?" she cried, rushing towards the body.

Lionpaw had wanted to be the medicine cat apprentice after Thinwhisper was stolen, but she would have felt too guilty if she just claimed the position right after he died, so she never got the chance to mention it. Scorchpaw took the initiative and filled the empty role of medicine cat apprentice. Until, of course, he died.

"We're not sure," Spiderclaw, Lionpaw's mother, replied, "Do you think you could tell us how she died, Lionpaw?" Spiderclaw knew her daughter had wanted to become a medicine cat.

Lionpaw sniffed the dead cat tentatively, and peered at her mouth. "It looks like she ate deathberries." She said blankly, unsure of what to think of it.

"Deathberries? Where?" Berrypaw had stepped out of the apprentice's den, fed up with Pondpaw's sulking.

"Spiritfeather ate them." Lionpaw replied softly, letting her tail sweep the ground.

The cats in the clearing murmured among themselves. Why would Spiritfeather eat deathberries? Who fed them to her? Or, did she eat them herself? The mutterings passed along cat to cat before Stormstar leaped onto the Highledge and yowled for silence.

"We will mourn for Spiritfeather, and bury her soon. Right now, what we need most is a new medicine cat." Stormstar said, his voice drenched in sorrow, but not for Spiritfeather, instead he sighed for StarClan. No medicine cat meant no contact with the warriors of StarClan, and it only left them more vulnerable to the dead cats of the Dark Forest.

"Stormstar, if I may…" Lionpaw began, looking up warily into her leader's eyes. He nodded for her to continue.

"I know this is sudden, but may I make the journey to the Moonpool to be accepted as a medicine cat? I… I know about herbs and treatments, but maybe Cloudheart could teach me more…" She suggested, gulping back whatever nervousness she had.

Stormstar looked down at the apprentice for a while, but then nodded, "Alright. Brackentail, go with her to the ShadowClan camp. Forget about waiting for a patrol at the border, they wouldn't come," he hissed, "Make sure Midnightstar doesn't drive you out. Her warriors still have their senses, as so does Cloudheart."

Brackentail looked pleased at being the one chosen to go with his daughter. "Yes, Stormstar."

"Stormstar, may I bring Shiningpaw with me as well?" Lionpaw asked suddenly. Shiningpaw looked surprised. "It would help to have extra paws in case ShadowClan attacks us!"

"I don't know, I don't want to lose more cats." Stormstar thought about it briefly, but then sighed. If Lionpaw wanted to become medicine cat, she was the one that needed to be protected. The Clan's faith in StarClan was all they had left now.

"Shiningpaw, if you want to go, you may go. Please convince Cloudheart to help you." Stormstar hopped off of the Highledge and darted into his den to think. Willowleaf followed after him. Shiningpaw nodded towards Lionpaw, signaling she was okay with going. Her ears twitched, she didn't really want to go, but she couldn't let her friend down.

"Let's go, you two. We should get a move on before night falls." Brackentail meowed, making his way for the camp entrance. Lionpaw padded after her father, and Shiningpaw started to step forward. However, Darkkit stepped in front of her.

"You'll come back, right sis?" Darkkit asked expectantly, her eyes and black fur shining. "You won't get stolen, right? Quailkit would be awfully upset."

"Of course I'll come back!" Shiningpaw mewed triumphantly. "You won't have to worry about a thing, Darkkit."

Darkkit purred, leaning against her older sister. "You have to keep that promise, or Spottedface will be sad."

"As I said, I'll come back!" Shiningpaw licked her younger sister affectionately.

"And will Lionpaw and Brackentail come back?" Darkkit asked, taking on a different tone.

"Yes, yes!" Shiningpaw hissed playfully, getting tired of her younger sister's incessant questions. To her response, Darkkit's eyes flashed.

"Well, alright. Be careful." She walked back to her mother.

"Weird kit…" Shiningpaw muttered as she turned to follow Brackentail and Lionpaw, who were waiting impatiently.

The three cats walked along the grassy forest towards the ShadowClan border. As they crossed it, Shiningpaw hardly noticed the territory switch. Their borders hadn't been marked recently, and the scent was hardly noticeable.

"Stay close." Brackentail growled as they drove deeper through the territory. Soon Shiningpaw could smell the sharp tang of ShadowClan cats. Cloudheart was tending to an apprentice, presumably Coldpaw, the last remaining apprentice. Luckily, Midnightstar was nowhere in sight.

"Cloudheart!" Brackentail hissed a whisper, and Cloudheart looked his way, startled, but then his face softened as he saw the ThunderClan cats. He mewed something to Coldpaw before padding towards them.

"Thank goodness it's only ThunderClan, I was afraid the dark warriors would come for me…" Cloudheart mumbled, looking around nervously. "So, what brought you here?"

Lionpaw stepped forward.

"Scorchpaw and Spiritfeather are dead." She announced bravely, not wavering. "I've decided to follow their paws on the path of a medicine cat. You're the last medicine cat left in the forest, Cloudheart, and I need your guidance." She dipped her head.

Cloudheart looked stunned. He had gotten along well with Scorchpaw at the half-moon meetings at the Moonpool, and he had been around since Spiritfeather was a kit.

"I'm… I'm sorry to hear that. I'll miss them both deeply." Cloudheart dipped his head briefly in mourning, and then rose to look down at Lionpaw.

"I accept. I will train you in the ways of a medicine cat, but I don't know how we'll go about seeing each other. I can't just leave ShadowClan, they need me more than ever now… but ThunderClan needs a medicine cat…" Cloudheart spoke with confusion.

Brackentail and his daughter conversed with Cloudheart a while longer. Shiningpaw stared up at the pine above them, trying to see the fading blue sky. It was growing darker. She wasn't sure how long she had watched the sky for before Lionpaw brought her back to her senses.

"Shiningpaw, what do you think about that?" she asked cautiously. The grey apprentice blinked. The golden one pouted.

"Sorry, what?"

"Would you help me train to be a medicine cat? We can learn under Cloudheart together, and you can be my apprentice! Then we can have two medicine cats!" Lionpaw purred, tail twitching. Cloudheart looked off into the distance. Clearly, he had not been the one to think of the idea, and he wasn't thinking of going through with it.

_Me? A medicine cat? _Shiningpaw thought, terrified. The thought had never crossed her mind. It seemed that lately, being a medicine cat only brought death, not life.

Besides, herbs just didn't come natural to her. She liked the feel of her claws ripping through flesh, and she liked hunting with her friends in the Clan.

_But most of all, medicine cats have one flaw that makes them undesirable to be for some cats._

"So?" Lionpaw asked, hope gleaming in her eyes. Shiningpaw took another look at the approaching dusk. Brackentail seemed embarrassed at his daughter's sudden question. It wasn't likely to have two medicine cat apprentices at once.

"There's… there's a proper way to do things, and then there isn't." Shiningpaw began carefully. "We'd almost be warriors by now, and I don't think I can give up my training to become a medicine cat."

Lionpaw looked crestfallen, but Brackentail flicked his tail.

"Shiningpaw may be right. I know we're desperate for medicine cats, but she can't just quit her warrior training. You're an exception," Brackentail gave his daughter a lick; "You've had herbs on your mind ever since you were a kit."

"I guess so. Sorry for forcing that decision on you, Shiningpaw." Lionpaw apologized, but didn't sound sorry.

"It's late." A voice called out from ShadowClan camp. The ThunderClan cats turned to look. It was Coldpaw, the last ShadowClan apprentice.

"Oh, that's right!" Cloudheart gasped, and turned back to camp. "You three should go back to your camp. It would be unsafe to be alone in the forest at night." He said without turning back.

"Wait, when will you teach me the ways of a medicine cat? How will we contact them at the Moonpool if we don't go at night?" Lionpaw called out after him.

Cloudheart turned slightly to respond, "Tomorrow at dawn, meet me at the border and bring a warrior with you. I'll have to test your knowledge about herbs first before we go doing anything."

"Yes, Cloudheart!" Lionpaw purred excitedly. Her silver friend was not so amused, however.

_How could she be so excited? We're practically facing our deaths. Becoming a medicine cat won't change much. _Shiningpaw thought rather coldly. She thought back to Spiritfeather, the spindly medicine cat that never seemed quite right to her. She must have gone mad when Thinwhisper died; it was the biggest rumor spreading around camp at the time.

Brackentail and Lionpaw walked away from the ShadowClan camp, but before Shiningpaw followed, she took a last glance at the shady camp.

Coldpaw was staring at her eerily.

With a shudder, Shiningpaw turned back to follow her friend, wishing she hadn't looked back.

_The one undesirable flaw…_

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"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" Stormstar yowled, and the cats of ThunderClan, minus Shiningpaw, Lionpaw, and Brackentail, moved out of the comfort of their dens and into the center of camp.

"Willowleaf and I have talked it over and decided its best for the eldest kits, Darkkit and Quailkit, to become apprentices a moon early."

The Clan cats mumbled to each other.

"We think this is the best course of action. We need as many trained cats as possible to fight off the threat of the Dark Forest warriors."

"But we can't hurt them here!" Lightheart hissed in response.

"It's true, we can't, but it's best to be prepared!" Hornetlight retorted.

Stormstar nodded, "Hornetlight is correct. We need to be vigilant. Darkkit, Quailkit, come up here."

Quailkit looked utterly shocked, and Darkkit had to nudge him forwards.

Stormstar performed the apprentice ceremony in silence. The Clan cats seemed unnerved. Had things become so bad that they were training kits as apprentices now?

When Darkkit and Quailkit became Darkpaw and Quailpaw, the cats cheered for them, but the air was still unsettling.

"Darkpaw, you will be mentored by Raggedwing, Quailpaw, you will be mentored by Lightheart." The apprentices and mentors touched noses, and Stormstar stepped off the Highledge.

Darkpaw stared into the distance, at the camp entrance.

"Darkpaw?" Raggedwing grumbled, looking down at his new apprentice. Darkpaw looked up, her eyes glazed over. "Yes?"

"Stormstar wants your warrior training to be started tomorrow morning. Be ready," he sighed, and stalked off. Darkpaw blinked, and padded off to the apprentice's den. A twinge of hope suddenly fell over her. "Is it because I'm an apprentice now? Or something more?" she mused aloud cryptically, and hoping no cat heard her, curled up in the corner of the den to take a nap.

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"Shiningpaw, what do you think your warrior name will be?" Lionpaw chose her words carefully, tainting the word 'warrior' icily. Shiningpaw inwardly shuddered at her friend's sudden malice.

"I don't know… Shiningheart or Shiningspirit are a bit obvious. Shiningfur is plain but suiting…" she imagined her shining silver coat in her mind as she spoke, "How about your medicine cat name, Lionpaw?" she was sure to line the term 'medicine cat' with as much poison as Lionpaw had done to her.

"Who knows? Cloudheart will have to decide for me." Lionpaw decided not to play her own invented game.

Shiningpaw grunted in response. _Why have we been driven so apart by this medicine cat thing? Just because I don't want to be a medicine cat doesn't mean she has to hate me for it! _She thought angrily, kneading the ground with her paws as she walked.

Brackentail suddenly stopped. His ears twitched, and his whiskers moved in the breeze. All was silent as the sun dipped down past the mountains. With a flash, he leapt to the left of him and hissed into the trees.

"Who's there? Are you of the living?" Brackentail growled, standing in front of the two apprentices, Lionpaw especially.

The crunching of leaves sent a chill down Shiningpaw's spine. Her paws itched to fight, and she stepped ahead of the to-be medicine cat.

But instead of a raging Dark Warrior, a scrawny apprentice collapsed into the open. His scent was faint, but it was of RiverClan.

"A RiverClan apprentice?" Lionpaw gasped, padding up to him, checking for wounds. Shiningpaw snorted, _anyone can do that_.

The apprentice coughed and spat blood onto the ground.

"What's your name, kit?" Brackentail growled, sniffing the wild cat cautiously.

The apprentice hissed at the older warrior, still conscious enough to know when he was being insulted.

"Deadpaw," he coughed as he said it, and let his head rest on the ground.

The three ThunderClan cats stood for a moment, unsure what to do with the apprentice. Shiningpaw couldn't help herself, watching Lionpaw do nothing, and spat, "Come on, medicine cat, aren't you going to help him?"

Lionpaw's ears flattened, and her eyes grew wide. Shiningpaw suddenly wished she could have taken back what she said. Brackentail frowned at her, and the grey apprentice dipped her head. Lionpaw's shocked look turned into one of betrayal, and turned away.

"Sorry… but we have to get him back to camp, right?" she said feebly, and her companions grunted. The three of them worked to drag the half-dead Deadpaw towards ThunderClan camp, and Shiningpaw dreaded every step they took.

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**Trying to get all the characters in there first. The allegiance page will go up officially probably after four or five. Reviewing is great, it helps me improve my writing and fix any inconsistencies! It's tough remembering all these names **** Thanks!**

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	3. Chapter 3: Namesake

**Thanks for reviewing! Constructive criticism is encouraged if you have any, especially to point out any inconsistencies. Enjoy this new chapter!**

**Thanks especially to Puppy and Shiningspirit for reviewing~**

Shiningpaw sighed as she watched the Clan cats observe and prod the RiverClan apprentice, Deadpaw. He seemed to be acting like his namesake, but he occasionally growled at the cats around him. He was too weak to move around for himself.

Darkpaw padded up to her elder sister and gave her a quizzical look.

"Oh, Darkkit, it's nothing." Shiningpaw murmured, breaking her gaze.

"It's Darkpaw now. And Quailpaw, too!" Darkpaw purred, pointing to Quailpaw with her tail, who was chatting with Pondpaw at the entrance of the apprentice's den.

"What? Neither of you are six moons yet, and not everyone was at camp!" Shiningpaw hissed, but didn't doubt her sister's words. Darkpaw had never been a lying kit.

"Well, Stormstar thought we needed more trained warriors…" the black apprentice said quietly, and nudged Shiningpaw in the side. "And I can tell something's up. What happened when you were out?"

Shiningpaw sighed. There was just no way to fool the mysterious she-cat.

"Lionpaw asked me to become her apprentice when she became a medicine cat, but I refused. And when we found Deadpaw, I snapped at her and she must hate me now!" Shiningpaw groaned, collapsing to the ground. Darkpaw stood over her, and caught her gaze with her icy blue eyes.

"Well, you should apologize." Darkpaw said simply.

Shiningpaw was silent for a moment.

Darkpaw continued, "Anyway, I think Berrypaw wanted to talk to you," she mewed, and walked away. Shiningpaw sighed; Darkpaw had always been rather strange to her.

The silver she-cat peered into the apprentice's den past Pondpaw and Quailpaw and saw the brown tabby tom, Berrypaw, waiting patiently near a patch of bramble. Upon seeing her arrival, his face visibly brightened and he flicked his tail in signal for her to go near.

Shiningpaw sat in front of Berrypaw uneasily. She hardly talked to the apprentice; she had spent most of her time with Lionpaw. _Lionpaw. _Shiningpaw inwardly shuddered, pushing the thoughts of her former friend to the back of her mind. _It didn't just start with today… where did we go wrong?_

"Did Darkpaw tell you to come find me?" Berrypaw asked excitedly. Shiningpaw nodded. "Great, follow me!" he purred, and burst out of the apprentice's den.

"Wait!" Shiningpaw called after him, but he hardly heard her. Muttering under her breath, Shiningpaw headed out of the den.

"Shiningpaw," Quailpaw stopped her, "What's up with Berrypaw?"

"How should I know?" Shiningpaw hissed, and continued.

"Huh, what's her problem?" Quailpaw muttered to Pondpaw, who hadn't said a word since Shiningpaw entered the den. Pondpaw shrugged in response, her amber eyes looking anywhere but her companion.

Shiningpaw managed to track Berrypaw to a spot outside of camp. He hadn't went very far, but he had walked to an abandoned badger set.

"What are we doing here?" Shiningpaw asked, her whiskers twitching.

"I wanted to show you this!" Berrypaw moved out of the set entrance and gestured to an obscure rock that had almost completely covered the passageway.

"A rock." The she-cat observed, emotionless.

"Yes! But it's not any old rock, look!" Berrypaw pointed with his tail to etchings on the rock. Shiningpaw peered down at the old rock. The etched surface did not seem to be the scratching of cats.

"Do you think Twolegs did it?" Berrypaw asked, as if he read her thoughts.

"Probably. I don't think cats could scratch this deep into a rock in this detail." Shiningpaw mumbled. The scratches resembled shapes and figures. A few joined together to form a cat-like figure. Shiningpaw felt she should have mentioned it, but didn't. Berrypaw only looked at her with gleaming, hopeful eyes.

"It's very interesting, Berrypaw." She said, feigning as much emotion as she could. The joyous tom bought it and purred. "Thanks for showing it to me."

"No problem! Want to go hunt? I'm sure the Clan is having enough trouble…" Berrypaw trailed off, and his companion interrupted him.

"Of course. It's best to get our minds off of this whole Dark Forest thing anyway." Shiningpaw mewed with a hint of sadness, and started to walk away from the badger set.

"Hey wait!" Berrypaw shouted after her, and the two went off to hunt.

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Darkpaw sat with her clanmates as Stormstar spoke with Willowleaf about the abandoned RiverClan apprentice. Deadpaw was sleeping in the medicine cat den, where Lionpaw and Brackentail were watching him.

She felt a nose against her flank and looked up at her father, Sharpnose.

"Thinking about anything?" he purred softly.

"Not really," Darkpaw sniffed, looking away. In truth, she had a lot of things on her mind. She had been born shortly before the appearance of the warriors from the Place of No Stars, and all she had grown up to know was of the Dark Forest.

Her littermate, Quailpaw, had been frightened and uneasy as a kit, and Flamekit and Tigerkit were too young to play-fight with. Darkpaw had spent her time as a kit curled up against Spottedface, thinking. She thought of herself as sophisticated and better than her littermate and the other apprentices, except for Shiningpaw.

Shiningpaw could be particularly nasty at times, but she was still Darkpaw's elder sister. Shiningpaw had talked to her a few times when she was a kit, but Darkkit had been too afraid to share her innermost thoughts to even her sister.

Once, Darkpaw had asked Spottedface why she, Quailpaw, and Shiningpaw were named the names they were. Spottedface had replied proudly to her question.

"Shiningpaw was the only kit of my first litter, and Sharpnose told me I was shining even through my tired appearance, so I named her Shiningkit. Quailkit was after your great-grandfather, Quailfeather, because he looked exactly like him." She had purred in amusement.

"And me?" Darkkit had squeaked.

"You, Darkkit, I named partially for your black pelt, but also because the clouds had covered the sun so thickly, it seemed dark for that moment even in the daytime." Spottedface had said, and then changed the subject.

Darkpaw was shook back into the present as Stormstar stood upon the Highledge.

"Cats of ThunderClan, Willowleaf and I have decided to let Deadpaw stay with ThunderClan, if he wants to, that is. We will talk to him once he wants to talk with us." Stormstar's voice rumbled throughout the camp. Willowleaf stood nearby, staring out at the Clan with scanning eyes.

"Deadpaw… what a rigid name." Lightheart murmured to Hornetflight, who silently agreed.

"What a horrid name." Darkpaw said under her breath. _I wonder why his mother named him Deadpaw._ She thought, before Quailpaw caught her attention. His sister padded away from their father and greeted him and Pondpaw.

Pondpaw's brown fur was unclean and tangled. Quailpaw was looking at her with concerned eyes. Darkpaw narrowed her own eyes.

"Pondpaw thinks we should leave the Clans." Quailpaw whispered to Darkpaw, looking around as if everyone were watching him. Darkpaw widened her eyes and looked at Pondpaw, who gave no response.

"But, what about our families and the cats we've grown up with?" Darkpaw asked, worried. "We can't just leave them!" For the first time in a while, Pondpaw looked up. Her gaze locked with Darkpaw's, and the sleek black she-cat found she could not look away. But she did not speak, she only stared fiercely, the intensity of her wish showing in her eyes.

"Pondpaw…" Darkpaw began, but Pondpaw suddenly spoke.

"You can think about it over a night's sleep. You can give us your decision tomorrow." Her voice was cool and precise, and she returned to the far corner of the apprentice's den. Quailpaw gave a meek look to his sister before following Pondpaw away.

Darkpaw sighed and returned her focus to the Clan cats discussing Deadpaw. While she had been out of their fur, Deadpaw had apparently decided to stay. Stormstar had appointed Spottedface as Deadpaw's mentor. Flowerbelly watched the naming of the mentor from the nursery.

Deadpaw was a scrawny apprentice, probably seven moons old, with long, dark fur. His eyes were a gross shade of yellow, and he didn't share them warmly. His eyes locked with Darkpaw momentarily before she looked away.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Berrypaw stormed into the camp carrying two squirrels, and Shiningpaw trailing behind him with a vole. They dropped their fresh-kill in the dwindling pile and headed for the apprentice's den. Shiningpaw flashed Darkpaw a look before saying something to Berrypaw. Moments after they entered the den, Pondpaw and Quailpaw hurriedly walked out.

Darkpaw pivoted back to Deadpaw, and padded up to him. The crowd of cats had seemed to disperse, so she figured it was alright.

"Deadpaw, how did you get your name?" She asked bluntly. Deadpaw seemed surprised, but tried to hide it by scowling.

"How should I know?" He growled.

"Hadn't you ever asked your mother?" Darkpaw said curiously, her tail twitching.

"No," was the response. Darkpaw scowled back.

"You left RiverClan, right? Who was your family there?" The apprentice asked, not coldly, but not nicely. Deadpaw's ears twitched.

"It doesn't matter, they're all dead now. Just like me." Deadpaw replied harshly, turning away. "Just go away. Leave me alone."

Darkpaw hissed. She wanted to whack the rude RiverClan cat on the head, but Sharpnose came up to her before she could do anything. He led her away, and Darkpaw didn't look back.

"Be kind to him. He's lost everything he ever loved." Sharpnose said softly before walking away. Darkpaw looked back. Deadpaw was looking at her, watching in curiosity.

---

Darkpaw found herself in a field with no trees. She looked up at the sky and saw, horrified, that it was night time. Only a handful of stars dotted Silverpelt. She desperately looked around for ThunderClan camp but found nothing.

"Darkpaw." A voice said her name, and Darkpaw turned around. A grey tabby tom was sitting in the field a few fox-lengths away. His gleaming blue eyes reflected moonlight, although the moon was not in the sky. Darkpaw padded towards him with curiosity.

"Who are you? I've never seen you around before." Darkpaw said threateningly, crouching. The cat frowned at her, and flicked his tail. The backdrop changed to ThunderClan territory, and Darkpaw yowled.

"You're dreaming, of course you wouldn't have seen me around." The cat mused, and dipped his head. "My name is Jayfeather. I was ThunderClan's medicine cat many generations before yours."

Darkpaw was stunned. She had heard stories from the elders, before they had all been stolen away, of ThunderClan's great heroes, and Jayfeather had been one of them. Darkpaw immediately adjusted herself. "Sorry!" she muttered, embarrassed at making such a mistake.

"Don't worry about it; I have more important things to talk to you about." Jayfeather muttered.

"Wait, you're from StarClan. What's going on up there anyway? Why aren't you doing anything?" Darkpaw snarled, forgetting her calmness for a moment.

"Shut it!" Jayfeather snapped, "StarClan is having as much trouble as ThunderClan and ShadowClan are. Only warriors of StarClan and medicine cats of the living Clans can hope to defeat Dark Forest warriors. But cats from the Place of No Stars have been stealing the living cats before StarClan can take them away. I'm sure you know that already."

Darkpaw nodded, this was common knowledge to the Clan cats.

"Normally StarClan would not tell you this so bluntly, but we're at a loss for words. Darkpaw, Lionpaw is not the cat to become ThunderClan's medicine cat." Jayfeather explained.

"Why are you telling me?" The apprentice asked, but fear crept over her as she realized what was coming next.

"You are the one destined to become medicine cat. StarClan sees great values in you, and you must be the one to succeed Spiritfeather." Jayfeather turned away from Darkpaw, and looked up at the trees. "I knew someone like Lionpaw once…" he mumbled, but seemed to be lost in memories, and Darkpaw did not want to interfere.

He sighed and looked back at Darkpaw.

"I'd say you're our only hope, but don't get full of yourself. Others are chosen to help you on your journey, and if you should fail, we will make sure they succeed in your place." Jayfeather nodded to the apprentice and walked off.

"Wait! I have more questions!" Darkpaw yowled after the ancient, once-blind cat, but he was gone. She continued to yowl.

"Darkpaw! Can't you stop yowling for one second?" A voice growled. It was not Jayfeather, but Raggedwing. "We're going on a patrol with Lightheart, Quailpaw, Spottedface, and Deadpaw. Get a move on!"

Darkpaw rose up groggily. The dream had felt so real. She recalled what Jayfeather had said to her and shuddered. What was she supposed to tell ThunderClan? _What am I going to tell Shiningpaw? _The thoughts rang in her head as she left the camp, and all throughout the patrol.

**The POV will be switching a lot until the cats that need to die have died. Just saying. Remember to review!**


	4. Chapter 4: Desperate

**Chapter four, here we go!**

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"So? Did you think about it?"

Quailpaw mewed to his sister as they walked with the patrol.

"About what?"

"Leaving the Clans!" Quailpaw whispered anxiously, and Darkpaw suddenly remembered Pondpaw's idea. Darkpaw shook her head.

"I… I can't leave," she mumbled, thinking of her prophetic dream. "Don't you think it's better to save the Clans rather than run? We can't abandon ThunderClan."

"Well… Pondpaw was thinking of gathering all of the apprentices, even Coldpaw from ShadowClan, and creating a new Clan, far away from here." Quailpaw said, a bit of sadness in his voice.

Darkpaw was shocked. A new Clan, with all of the apprentices? Quailpaw didn't give her a chance to respond.

"We're going to ask Shiningpaw and Berrypaw later, and we asked Lionpaw to ask Coldpaw for us before she went to ShadowClan to train under Cloudheart." He mewed confidently.

"What about Deadpaw?" Darkpaw asked, remembering the coldness and sadness that echoed from him.

"Well… we don't know what he knows. We'll think about it."

"But he's an apprentice too! Didn't you say all of the apprentices?" Darkpaw hissed, and Quailpaw stopped walking.

"You don't have to stand up for him like that, Darkpaw. We hardly know him."

Darkpaw faltered. That was true, but she couldn't just leave him alone. Deadpaw was somewhere ahead with the rest of the patrol. Lightheart, Spottedface, and Raggedwing were there as well. They were only checking along the ShadowClan border. Lionpaw had left with Brackentail to the same border just earlier, and she had met with Cloudheart and left. Brackentail wanted to go with her to make sure she was safe.

"Hey, Quailpaw, Darkpaw! Hurry up!" Raggedwing growled from ahead, and the two apprentices caught up to the group. "Stop mumbling to each other and maybe you can catch some prey while we're here."

And so the two apprentices stopped speaking for the time being and went on with the duties of the patrol.

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Willowleaf and Shiningpaw were having a training session just outside camp when the patrol returned. Shiningpaw looked hopefully up at her mentor, and the deputy nodded. The apprentice padded over to her sister Darkpaw.

"How was your first patrol?" She mewed. Darkpaw's eyes flickered to Quailpaw and back.

"Let's talk elsewhere," the sleek black she-cat meowed, "I don't want to talk with our brother listening."

"But I'm training with Willowleaf, I don't have any time to go sneaking off." Shiningpaw protested. Darkpaw's eyes narrowed.

"Quailpaw will tell you of one of my troubles soon. I'll have to tell you my own trouble when you're done." She sighed and walked off.

"Hey, wait!" Shiningpaw complained, but didn't make a move to go after her. She scowled and went back to Willowleaf to continue training.

Darkpaw found Berrypaw eating a mouse near the fresh-kill pile. She herself grabbed a vole. She and Quailpaw had caught enough on the patrol; he had been stuck with carrying most of it.

Berrypaw looked over at her and gulped down the mouse.

"Did you see my sister when you were out there?" He asked plainly.

"No, Lionpaw is probably at ShadowClan camp right now." Darkpaw replied. She took a bite of her vole. "You seem keen on my sister."

Berrypaw blushed and looked away, "Yeah. I don't know how she thinks of me though…"

Darkpaw purred and replied, "You should just ask her." Her whiskers twitched as she scented Willowleaf and Shiningpaw returning from practice. She saw Berrypaw's eyes light up as he prepared to greet her, but Darkpaw quickly got ahead of him.

"Shiningpaw, let's talk now, before lover boy gets to you first." Darkpaw said quietly, and walked off out of camp, expecting Shiningpaw to follow her. Her sister looked towards Berrypaw, who had paused in his step as Darkpaw whispered something to his love. Shiningpaw turned to follow her sister, leaving Berrypaw fallen. Quailpaw suddenly walked up to the enamored apprentice and whispered something to him. Berrypaw looked concerned at Quailpaw's words, and uncomfortable. Quailpaw shrugged and walked off.

"What is it?" Shiningpaw murmured, "I think Berrypaw wanted to talk to me."

"Doesn't matter now. Apologize to him later." Darkpaw retorted.

"Oh! I never apologized to Lionpaw…" Shiningpaw suddenly recalled her sister's words of wisdom.

"That's okay now," Darkpaw shook her head, "I need to tell you something. Last night, I had a dream from StarClan."

"StarClan?" Shiningpaw gasped, "I had thought they had abandoned us… both Spiritfeather and Scorchpaw are gone." Darkpaw looked away in sadness.

"But I'm sure it was a dream from them! Jayfeather, the old ThunderClan medicine cat from long ago, told me Lionpaw isn't the one destined to become medicine cat." Darkpaw explained, bracing for Shiningpaw's response. But her sister had a confused and distant look on her face.

"Then… who is?" Shiningpaw seemed nervous.

"I am, apparently. I have to get Lionpaw to step down." Darkpaw said softly. Shiningpaw visibly relaxed. "I hardly know her; I don't think I can just tell her…"

"Why don't you tell Stormstar?" Shiningpaw suggested.

"Oh, he wouldn't believe me." Darkpaw chuckled, looking into the distance.

"Well…" the pale apprentice mumbled, "I could tell her. You'd have to be with me to back me up though."

"You want to tell her?" Darkpaw gasped, "She'd claw your ears off!"

"Doesn't matter now." Shiningpaw scoffed, "She has to see that not everything has to go her way. We'll tell her when she gets back."

Darkpaw sighed and agreed, and her sister walked back to the fresh-kill pile, where Berrypaw awaited. The two talked, Berrypaw whispering something grave, and Shiningpaw's expression was unreadable. She was apparently listening to Berrypaw intently. When Berrypaw seemed finished talking, Shiningpaw looked confused. Then he brightened up and said something happily, but Shiningpaw looked away.

Darkpaw's eyes clouded as she scented a ShadowClan cat. She peered backwards and saw Lionpaw returning with Cloudheart. Both cats looked troubled.

"Welcome back." Darkpaw mewed coolly, and Lionpaw dipped a head in greeting.

"We'll make the journey to the Moonpool tomorrow, Lionpaw. Same meeting spot, same time. I know we're rushing, but StarClan…" Cloudheart broke off, and then shook his head. "Well, see you tomorrow." And with that he padded off back to ShadowClan.

"Darkpaw, how are you?" Lionpaw purred suddenly. Darkpaw blinked, Lionpaw wasn't usually this friendly with her.

"Um… well. I have something to tell you though… or, Shiningpaw does, I guess." Darkpaw muttered. Lionpaw's friendly face turned dark.

"What?" she said with venom, and at that point Shiningpaw had trotted up to them. Lionpaw glared at her ex-friend, and Shiningpaw glared back.

"Lionpaw, Darkpaw is receiving dreams from StarClan, and StarClan has told her you're not destined to be the medicine cat!" Shiningpaw hissed.

_Only one dream. _Darkpaw thought to herself.

"Why not? Why can't I be the medicine cat?" Lionpaw snarled, "Why not me? I have more experience with herbs now than any other cat in this Clan does!"

_Hardly, you only just learned the basics today. _Darkpaw thought.

"Darkpaw was chosen by StarClan to become medicine cat! You can't always get what you want, Lionpaw. You have to step down." Shiningpaw insisted, trying to stay calm.

"Why should I believe you? You're just jealous!" Lionpaw seemed hysterical.

"Jealous? I rejected your offer to become medicine cat apprentice. I'll be a warrior soon, and I'll be proud of that!" Shiningpaw retorted.

"You're just lying! StarClan wouldn't betray me!" Lionpaw howled, tensing up.

"Betray you? They've done nothing." Shiningpaw said simply, her eyes dull. The only contact with StarClan they had received was Darkpaw's dream, and even she was starting to doubt it. She wanted to believe her sister for multiple reasons.

"Nothing!" Lionpaw mimicked, and unsheathed her claws.

"Stop this foolishness!" Stormstar's voice echoed throughout the camp. All cats turned to look at the bickering apprentices. Lionpaw stared up at her leader angrily.

"Shiningpaw says Darkpaw had a dream from StarClan!" Lionpaw hissed, looking accusingly at Shiningpaw.

"Is that true, Darkpaw?" Stormstar asked, hope in his steady voice. Darkpaw nodded. "What did they say?"

"They said _she _has to be medicine cat!" Lionpaw yowled, her fur bristling. The Clan murmured among themselves.

"What?!" A yowl arose from Brackentail. "Lionpaw is perfectly capable of being medicine cat!"

Lionpaw's mother, Spiderclaw, didn't say anything. Her brother Berrypaw didn't either. The Clan talked angrily now, arguing over what to do.

"Silence, ThunderClan! If StarClan has really spoken to Darkpaw, maybe they will give the rest of us a sign!" Stormstar suggested in his loud voice, and the Clan brightened.

"That's true, we may receive a sign!" Lightheart said excitedly, and her sister Hornetflight seemed pleased.

"Let's hope it's soon…" Raggedwing muttered.

And it was soon.

A shadowy figure stepped out from the fresh-kill pile, not interrupting its balance. It was a she-cat, with pale fur and crazed eyes. Red liquid marked her muzzle, but it didn't seem to be blood.

Spiderclaw screeched and jumped back. Berrypaw ran with her, and the Clan got as far away as they could from the fresh-kill pile. Was it another warrior from the Place of No Stars, ready to take someone away?

"It's… it's Spiritfeather…" Darkpaw motionlessly pointed out what all the cats had been too afraid to.

Spiritfeather stepped slowly towards the three apprentices and gazed over them. The Clan cats were frozen. It was a StarClan cat with the aura of one from the Dark Forest. Which was she?

The dead medicine cat turned to Darkpaw. Their eyes locked for what seemed like ages, but then Spiritfeather dipped her head. She then turned to Lionpaw, who was in shock.

"You… you're a medicine cat! Why have you joined the ranks of the Dark Forest?" Lionpaw asked, horrified.

"I lost faith in StarClan, but they told me to perform one task…" Spiritfeather's voice was grave.

"What… what would that be?" Lionpaw squeaked, backing up.

Spiritfeather didn't answer, but rushed ahead at Lionpaw.

"Lionpaw!" Berrypaw wailed, rushing forward. Shiningpaw held him back, her eyes daggers in his fur.

Lionpaw screeched as the Dark Forest cat ran through her, and in an instant, the two disappeared, Lionpaw's final words ringing throughout the camp.

After a long time had seemed to pass, Stormstar looked sadly down at Darkpaw.

"Go in Lionpaw's place tomorrow to the Moonpool. The fate of the Clans rests in your paws." He mumbled, and the Clan seemed huddled together, afraid if one was even a tail-length apart from another, they would disappear.

Brackentail's eyes were fixed on where Lionpaw once was. Spiderclaw huddled with Berrypaw, grieving. Spottedface was terrified, and Flowerbelly seemed devastated. It had been enough for her to lose Scorchpaw, but now more cats were being picked off.

But ThunderClan only had so much left to lose.

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**Remember to review! I'll try to get the next chapter up within three days, I'll be taking it slower from now on.**


	5. Chapter 5: Betrayal

**I thought I had this story all planned out, but then as I write it I realize I want to change a few things, and I've had to rewrite my outline twice! Enjoy this chapter!**

Darkpaw sat nervously at the ShadowClan border. Raggedwing and Shiningpaw sat with her, just as nervous. Raggedwing had volunteered as the warrior to go with the to-be medicine cat, since he was her present mentor anyway. Darkpaw asked Shiningpaw to come with her, and Stormstar didn't object.

Shiningpaw was quiet. Although her relations with Lionpaw hadn't been so good during the past three days, she refused to acknowledge her friend's death. She didn't eat even a nibble the day before, when Lionpaw was stolen by ThunderClan's previous medicine cat, Spiritfeather.

Cloudheart was surprised as he saw the three cats sitting at the border, and Lionpaw was not among them.

"Where's Lionpaw?" Shiningpaw cringed at his question.

"She was stolen." Raggedwing growled. Cloudheart's expression changed, but Darkpaw couldn't tell his emotions.

"Then… who is to be ThunderClan's medicine cat?" Cloudheart's eyes flickered to Shiningpaw, but before he could unknowingly say something hurtful, Darkpaw walked up to him.

"I am. StarClan has spoken to me." The dark she-cat said confidently. Cloudheart squinted, as if he were seeing Darkpaw for the first time, and then nodded.

"Alright, let's go." Cloudheart murmured, and started walking towards the WindClan border.

Darkpaw noticed how the sky was streaked in the colors of the clouds. The sun had well risen, and thin mists of cloud had covered it. She looked away.

"Can we even visit StarClan at the Moonpool in the morning?" Darkpaw mumbled her question, and Cloudheart sighed.

"We can't wait any longer, and it's too dangerous to go at night when the Dark Forest warriors lurk. If StarClan doesn't show up, we'll go at dusk." The ShadowClan medicine cat replied, and Darkpaw noticed his voice wavered. It seemed as if things were to fall apart.

The four cats continued walking. Cloudheart was whispering in a hushed tone to Raggedwing, who growled something back. Darkpaw glanced over at her sister, who was staring at her paws as she walked.

"Shiningpaw… are you okay?" Darkpaw mewed, and Shiningpaw glared at her, venom in her eyes.

"No, I'm not." She hissed, and without explanation, she looked back at her paws. Darkpaw faltered; there was nothing she could say that would cheer her sister up. Lionpaw was gone, and nothing had been settled between them.

Darkpaw then thought about Berrypaw. He had seemed devastated by the loss of his sister, but not as much as one other cat. Brackentail had been wracked to the bone by his daughter's death. Spiderclaw was about as sad as Berrypaw could have been, but neither's grief compared to Brackentail's.

The apprentice's ears twitched as she heard a rustle from the bushes. She stopped to look, but there was nothing.

"Calm down, it's just a rabbit." Raggedwing said roughly, "Hurry up."

Darkpaw took a last fleeting glance at the bush before continuing on the way to the Moonpool.

Shiningpaw felt awkward. There was nothing for her at the Moonpool.

She shivered as she felt invisible spikes pinprick her pelt. It seemed that eyes were watching her from everywhere. Her paranoia grew and she shuddered again. _Is StarClan watching me? Is this what it feels like? Am I being hated? _Shiningpaw almost smiled in disturbance, but an anxious look from Darkpaw shook her back to her senses. They were going to the Moonpool in the daytime to make Darkpaw a medicine cat.

Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. Shiningpaw felt the ground quake beneath her although nothing was happening. The sky spun and the clouds made shapes. Shiningpaw breathed a bit heavier as the cats approached the Moonpool. Raggedwing's stared back at where they came from.

"I'll stand guard." He suggested, and trotted down the path. Cloudheart nodded to no one in particular and looked towards Darkpaw.

"Well… I don't think it'd be proper of me to give a ThunderClan cat their medicine cat title, so you'd best ask StarClan…" Cloudheart muttered, and pointed to the Moonpool with a flick of his tail. Darkpaw blinked. She wouldn't receive a medicine cat name, but be accepted as a medicine cat apprentice. _But under who? _She pondered as she bent down to lap the water of the sparkling pool.

Shiningpaw's ears twitched as she heard a yowl. _Raggedwing? _Then she heard footsteps. She and Cloudheart turned at the noise, and they saw Brackentail lumbering towards them. He had claw marks on his flank.

"Brackentail? What are you doing here?" Cloudheart questioned, stepping in front of Shiningpaw. "Where's Raggedwing?"

Brackentail growled, "Lionpaw is dead… and it's all your fault!" he spoke to Shiningpaw, who hissed from behind the ShadowClan medicine cat. "You and Darkpaw! My daughter would have been medicine cat if it weren't for you! And Raggedwing… he's not available right now."

"Darkpaw is the one destined to be medicine cat of ThunderClan!" Cloudheart hissed, unsheathing his claws. "What happened to Lionpaw was unfortunate, but it was the will of StarClan!"

"Raggedwing… he's not dead, is he?" Shiningpaw asked in a whisper.

"No! Hardly! That fox hearted cat ran to get back up after slashing me down to the ground. He thought I was out cold. Lionpaw wouldn't have done such a thing! She would have made a great medicine cat!" Brackentail unsheathed his claws as well.

"Lionpaw did not have what it takes. She was sour, that apprentice. She would glare at Coldpaw, who tried to help her, and scowl at the elders who praised her. I don't know what went wrong." Cloudheart's words were harsh, but Shiningpaw knew they were true. Lionpaw was not like that before she was an apprentice.

Shiningpaw vaguely remembered Lionpaw becoming upset with her shortly after their apprentice ceremony. Lionpaw had asked her friend to sneak away with her to RiverClan to get a taste of fish. Shiningpaw had refused; it was against the warrior code. Lionpaw was frustrated with her and went anyway. They had always been good friends, but Lionpaw was adventurous and picky, while Shiningpaw could be arrogant and unwilling.

"How dare you!" Brackentail yowled, and leapt for the white medicine cat. Cloudheart dodged and swiped at the warrior's flank. Brackentail hissed as blood fell from his coat.

The brown tom glanced towards Darkpaw, who was probably talking with StarClan, and started running towards her. Shiningpaw desperately tackled him to the ground and Cloudheart leapt in to back the apprentice up. He had Brackentail pinned down.

He hissed and spat at them, and Shiningpaw looked down in shame. _It's my fault… Brackentail knows I contributed to Lionpaw's death._

"It's no one's fault but Lionpaw's." Cloudheart said as he saw Shiningpaw's depressed look. "Darkpaw is to be your medicine cat."

"How do you know?" Shiningpaw spoke softly. "You weren't there when Spiritfeather stole her away."

Cloudheart sighed. "I received an omen from StarClan just as I had given up hope. They said _the dark should not be ignored_, and I thought they had meant the Dark Forest. But when I was told of Lionpaw's… passing, I realized it might have a duel meaning."

"So, Darkpaw really is meant to be the medicine cat..." Shiningpaw murmured. Cloudheart eyed her carefully.

"You say it sadly. Why? She is your sister, correct? You two look so different." Cloudheart observed.

"I don't know." Shiningpaw said glumly, and then didn't speak another word.

Berrypaw sat next to Spiderclaw in camp. His mother was furiously grooming him, as if a Dark Warrior would come get him if he wasn't well cleaned.

The atmosphere at camp was strange now that Lionpaw was gone. Spiritfeather and Scorchpaw had been enough of a loss, but the other cats realized they could be next.

Berrypaw pondered what Quailpaw had told him at the fresh-kill pile.

'A new Clan, with just the apprentices! We haven't worked out the details yet, but it's becoming clearer and clearer we can't stay where we are now.' Quailpaw had said. Berrypaw had declined at the time, but now he was reconsidering.

_If I can convince Shiningpaw to come too, I'd happily go along. _Berrypaw thought, and Spiderclaw prodded him in the side.

"All done. Have you seen your father?" She meowed in question.

"Brackentail? No, actually, I haven't seen him since…" Berrypaw trailed off.

"Of course… well, run along now. Don't leave camp." Spiderclaw instructed, and padded off to the warrior's den. Berrypaw sighed. Like he would leave camp for anything now.

He glanced at the nursery entrance, where Flamekit and Tigerkit were mewling amongst themselves. Pondpaw was saying something to them in a hushed tone. Berrypaw walked closer.

"Really Pondpaw?" Flamekit was asking excitedly. Her ginger fur was ruffled. Her brother Tigerkit was looking pumped too.

"Really. But don't tell Flowerbelly, or anyone else besides the apprentices." Pondpaw replied smoothly. The two kits giggled and nodded, and Pondpaw looked up to see Berrypaw.

"Ah, Berrypaw, good timing. I was telling the kits about the Clan the apprentices are going to make." Pondpaw purred, and Berrypaw blinked.

"You're getting the kits involved too? They're so young!" He mewed uncomfortably.

"We'll need more warriors, and kits will make the Clan stronger." Pondpaw insisted. "Besides, they like the idea."

"Well…"

"And talking about cats who like the idea, what do you say? Will you join the new Clan, Berrypaw?" The she-cat asked, not accusingly, but in a friendly manner. Berrypaw was taken aback; usually Pondpaw was a sulking, unlikeable cat. But now she was entering his heart.

"Ah… well, I've decided that I'll go if Shiningpaw goes as well." He mumbled. Pondpaw blinked and made no significant movements.

"Alright. I'm sure Shiningpaw will join us, and hopefully Darkpaw as well. We will need a medicine cat, after all." She purred.

"Okay. I'll ask her when she gets back." Berrypaw sighed. Pondpaw tilted her head.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to make a new Clan and be rid of this mess?" Pondpaw mewed softly.

"Well I do, but what about our families here?" Berrypaw asked, and regretted it as soon as he did. Pondpaw had been found in the forest, abandoned as a kit. She had no Clan smell, and was probably the child of a rogue or loner. Flowerbelly was her adopted parent, and Scorchkit was her littermate.

"They won't miss us. They'll be stolen soon enough anyway." Pondpaw's voice became cold again, and walked away. Berrypaw watched her chat with Quailpaw, and he saw them look towards him and quickly look away.

He scanned the rest of camp and saw Deadpaw at the camp entrance. He was staring out into the distance.

"Deadpaw? What's up?" Berrypaw mewed, approaching him. Deadpaw looked at him, scowled, and looked back.

"Hey, you don't have to be rude." He teased, sitting beside him. "What is it?"

Deadpaw simply flicked his tail to where he was looking, and Berrypaw looked. Raggedwing was limping towards camp.

"Raggedwing!" Berrypaw jumped up and ran towards him. Deadpaw sat and watched.

"Raggedwing, what happened?" The concerned apprentice asked, seeing a large gash along his leg.

"It's Brackentail, that traitor!" The wounded warrior hissed. "He attacked me while I was guarding the Moonpool, but I managed to knock him down. He could get up any moment… get Willowleaf!" Berrypaw was stunned, but wordlessly went to fetch Willowleaf. Deadpaw watched him run.

Willowleaf thanked Berrypaw and ran to the Moonpool. Deadpaw and Berrypaw helped get Raggedwing to the old medicine cat's den.

"What should we do?" Berrypaw mumbled, staring at Raggedwing's wound desperately.

"Did your medicine cat, uh, Spiritfeather, keep any cobwebs around here? We need to stop the bleeding." Deadpaw peered at the holes and makeshift shelf in the den.

"Oh, I'll go find some!" Berrypaw leapt to his feet and prodded around the den until he found a clump of cobwebs in the corner. He dropped them in front of the RiverClan apprentice and Deadpaw began wrapping them around Raggedwing's wound.

"Were… were you a medicine cat apprentice?" Berrypaw mumbled awkwardly, but Deadpaw shook his head.

"As RiverClan dwindled in numbers, Marshstar decided we should all learn about herbs in case of an emergency, such as our medicine cat being stolen. Which happened. After that, I ran away." Deadpaw spoke the longest sentence he had ever spoken during his time in ThunderClan.

"I'm sorry…" Berrypaw mewed, but Deadpaw shrugged.

"It's okay. I'm over it now. You just better hope that it doesn't happen to ThunderClan." He said nonchalantly while tending to Raggedwing's wound.

"Is Hornetflight going to continue to train you? You could be a big help to Darkpaw as she's learning." Berrypaw suggested.

"I could do both." Deadpaw insisted. Berrypaw saw the apprentice in a new light. He had seemed to have gotten over his rough run from RiverClan. Berrypaw motioned to the other side of the medicine cat den and Deadpaw followed.

"Hey, has Quailpaw told you anything about running away from the Clans?" Berrypaw whispered, and Deadpaw looked genuinely surprised.

"No, he hasn't. Doesn't matter though, we're not friends."

"Quailpaw said that he and Pondpaw were gathering all of the apprentices to leave the Clans and make a new one." Berrypaw spilled, "But Quailpaw wasn't sure about asking you." Deadpaw's nose wrinkled.

"Pondpaw, huh? Well that's alright, I'd rather stay in ThunderClan for now. I don't think we can escape the Dark Forest just by running like cowards." He growled, and looked back to Raggedwing, who seemed pained. "Do you have any poppy seeds around?"

"Oh, no, but I can go fetch some." Berrypaw said happily, and left the den. A ghost of a smile played on Deadpaw's face as he watched his new friend leave.

**This chapter was going to be longer, but I decided to split it up. The original second half is going to be tacked on to the next-next chapter, which was going to be short, in order to make Chapter Six. After Chapter 6, I'll have the allegiances up! Thanks for reading and remember to review!**


	6. Chapter 6: Spoken Prophecy

**Next up are the first set of allegiances! I'll have them up later/tomorrow.**

**Also; made up the StarClan ceremony according to the medicine cat apprentice to medicine cat ceremony, just changed a few words/phrases. Enjoy!**

**

* * *

**Willowleaf bounded up to the Moonpool and felt as if sharp claws had gripped her in place.

Cloudheart was pinning Brackentail down to the ground, Darkpaw was sleeping at the Moonpool's side, and Shiningpaw was staring up at her. She only gave the deputy an anguished look before returning her gaze to Brackentail.

"Brackentail, how could you do this considering the circumstances of the Clans right now?" Willowleaf hissed, leaning down near the warrior's ear. Brackentail attempted to slash at her, but Cloudheart swiped him back down. The brown tabby groaned.

"What should we do with him, Willowleaf?" Cloudheart looked towards her. Shiningpaw still watched Brackentail, ignoring her mentor.

"It'll be my call." Willowleaf said roughly, and looked among the cats at the holy place.

"What about Stormstar?" Cloudheart asked, not in defiance, but as a suggestion.

"No, it'll take too long to drag this traitor back to camp. We'll take care of him now." Willowleaf hissed, and knocked Cloudheart out of the way. The medicine cat steadied himself and watched Willowleaf crouch down over Brackentail, keeping his throat pinned down.

_She's going to kill him! _Shiningpaw thought in horror. Willowleaf had always been rather tough, but Shiningpaw had never seen her decide to kill someone so easily before. _And… it's all my fault…_

"We'll tell Stormstar when we were deciding what to do with him a fox killed him." Willowleaf snorted, "He'll believe it."

Shiningpaw wanted to say a sharp retort to the deputy's words, but felt any courage to speak pushed back down her throat and into her stomach. She instead looked upwards at the blue sky, the red from the sunrise fading.

Spottedface had told her when she was a kit that Silverpelt still shines during the day, but its brightness simply cannot match up to the brightness of the sun. She tried to spot the twinkling signals of her warrior ancestors, but couldn't see any.

_Darkpaw… I hope StarClan is telling you what to do! _Shiningpaw thought in despair as she changed her vision to her sleeping friend.

* * *

Darkpaw blinked her eyes open and found herself in a place filled with stars. Cats walked by in the distance with stars in their pelts, and Darkpaw watched them in awe. One noticed her and dipped his head before walking on. _Is this StarClan?_

"Darkpaw, I'm glad you could make it." A voice purred from behind her. Darkpaw whirled about to see Jayfeather sitting with a familiar face.

"Scorchpaw!" Darkpaw mewed brightly, but the dead apprentice's face was grim.

"It's nice to see you again, Darkpaw. Unfortunately we can't waste time." He muttered, sadness vibrating from him.

"He's right. Let's get to business. Darkpaw, StarClan sees a great power within you, and we are determined to bring forth your power. Others have the potential to control this power, but you burn the strongest." Jayfeather explained.

"But what power is this?" Darkpaw asked, her eyes gleaming. Jayfeather ignored her and continued.

"We have a few things to do. First, Scorchpaw, I'm sorry your mentor couldn't have been here today." He addressed the rust colored apprentice.

"Spiritfeather… it's alright. She wasn't right in the head after the Dark Forest cats started appearing. She… lost faith." Scorchpaw said quietly. Jayfeather looked at him sympathetically.

"In replacement of Spiritfeather, I'll perform the ceremony."

_Ceremony? The only ceremonies StarClan cats perform are the leader ceremonies. _Darkpaw thought pensively, and focused on the two starry cats.

"Come forward, Scorchpaw." Jayfeather motioned with his tail, and the apprentice did so.

"I, Jayfeather, a medicine cat of StarClan, have called upon my comrades to look wisely at this apprentice whose life was ended too soon. He has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with the help of us all he will serve StarClan until he fades into the Nothingness." Jayfeather recited.

_What is _this _ceremony? _Darkpaw thought in bewilderment, recognizing only a few phrases. It seemed to be the medicine cat apprentice ceremony, but twisted. _Is StarClan allowed to do this? No, I shouldn't doubt them… _And Darkpaw realized that even StarClan was getting desperate.

"Scorchpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan, and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do." Scorchpaw's voice was strong.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your true name as a medicine cat. Scorchpaw, from this moment you will be known as Scorchwind. StarClan honors your courage and your faith. You had saved Spottedface by driving away the Dark Warrior, Flash, and died in the process. Your skills shall be used to pass on knowledge to a new medicine cat, Darkpaw." Jayfeather finished.

The stars seemed to shout Scorchwind's name as Jayfeather put his muzzle to Scorchwind's head. Darkpaw only watched in awe.

Scorchwind turned to look at Darkpaw, and she suddenly felt smaller. Scorchwind had a new glaze in his eyes, one that was not there a moment ago. He was still the same cat, only his new name had made all the difference.

"There's no ceremony to make you my apprentice, Darkpaw, so I'll just have to train you along with Jayfeather through your dreams." Scorchwind said.

"Alright… but let me know something."

"Shoot." Jayfeather replied.

"We're in StarClan right now, right?"

"Right…"

"Where is the Place of No Stars? Why aren't you all doing something about it by yourselves?" Darkpaw fired two.

"We can't just waltz over there and defeat them!" Jayfeather hissed, but Scorchwind took a calmer approach.

"The Place of No Stars isn't terribly far, but the journey there is bad. The forest usually scares even the bravest of cats." He muttered, as if remembering something. Jayfeather's ears twitched.

"For that reason and more, we need StarClan's army to be greater than… his." Jayfeather faltered.

"His? Who's he?" Darkpaw wracked her brain for stories of Dark Forest cats.

"You'll know when it is time." Scorchwind responded. Jayfeather suddenly nudged his companion and motioned in another direction. Darkpaw turned and saw another starry cat approach. The cat was unknown to Darkpaw, but he nodded to the two medicine cats; a slow and powerful nod, before walking away. Scorchwind turned and followed the cat.

Jayfeather stayed behind and looked at Darkpaw gravely.

"_Sprang from water, sprang from heart, if so the days ahead are dark. Sprang from darkness, aimed much higher, and then the days won't be so dire." _Jayfeather boomed. Darkpaw felt different voices present in the prophecy, and as the words echoed throughout the clearing in StarClan, Darkpaw felt herself fading from the leafy forest.

She first saw the Moonpool, and then the sun's reflection in the water. _Sunpool could have been appropriate!_

And then she turned around and the humor was lost as she saw Willowleaf perched on Brackentail's neck.

"Brackentail!" Darkpaw gasped, but Shiningpaw waved her tail over her friend's mouth to silence her.

"Brackentail is a traitor. He wanted to kill you and Shiningpaw. We're putting an end to this here." Willowleaf growled, and bit into the brown cat's neck. Blood bubbled from his throat as the tom gurgled and spat blood onto the ground. He tried to speak, a sentence no one would ever know, and then his spasms died down until he was dead.

The four cats stood in silence as Brackentail's blood continued leaking on the grass and stone. The sun still shone, making the blood appear shiny.

Shiningpaw felt as if she was the one that had died. She felt as if it should have been her.

"Darkpaw, did you speak with StarClan?" Cloudheart looked towards Darkpaw expectantly. The apprentice nodded. "Even in the daytime?"

"Apparently so." She muttered.

"Well? What did they tell you?" Willowleaf demanded, her claws digging into Brackentail's side.

"Scorchpaw was there… but he's Scorchwind now." Darkpaw began.

"What? How did he get his full name?" Cloudheart was bewildered.

"A cat called Jayfeather gave it to him." Darkpaw replied, looking for a change in facial expression. Cloudheart's eyes widened and nodded excitedly.

"He was part of a prophecy long ago when the Dark Forest first rose up against the Clans." Cloudheart rambled, "I didn't know cats could receive new names while in StarClan; besides leaders, of course, but they aren't dead!"

While the ShadowClan medicine cat thought excitedly to himself, Darkpaw remembered the prophecy Jayfeather had given her.

"Jayfeather gave me a prophecy!" Darkpaw blurted out, and Cloudheart's focus changed. Willowleaf gave him a harsh look and then looked down at Darkpaw.

"Tell us when we get back to camp. Cloudheart, dispose of this traitor for us." Willowleaf said hurriedly and started to walk away.

"Wait, Willowleaf!" Darkpaw padded after her before giving a quick glance back at Cloudheart. Shiningpaw stared at Brackentail's body.

"It's not your fault, Shiningpaw." Cloudheart said softly. Shiningpaw sighed.

"I never got to say I was sorry… to Lionpaw… Brackentail hates me, wherever he is." Shiningpaw groaned, digging her claws into the dirt.

"Where Brackentail is, I don't know. It seems even StarClan is bending the rules now." Cloudheart replied, and then looked miserably down at the dead cat. He seemed to regret not speaking up as Willowleaf told him to rid of the body.

"I'll help you. We'll bury him." Shiningpaw suggested. _It'll be kinder to bury him than dump him in a river._

"Thanks." Cloudheart looked relieved, and the two went to work digging a hole for the traitorous dead cat.

* * *

Sharpnose sniffed the air and looked outwards into the trees.

"What's wrong?" Spottedface buried her muzzle in her mate's fur.

"Nothing… I thought I smelled blood." Sharpnose mumbled.

"Oh, don't think like that! I bet Willowleaf caught some prey on the way back." Spottedface scolded.

"Right, just prey." Sharpnose replied, licking her fur. _But it was cat blood…_

* * *

Willowleaf and Darkpaw trotted back to the camp entrance.

"Remember, if anyone asks, a fox got him." The deputy reminded sharply, and Darkpaw nodded.

"Darkpaw, you're back!" Quailpaw went to greet his littermate.

"Hey." Darkpaw said weakly, greeting the Clan.

"Where's Shiningpaw?" Spottedface asked worriedly as she saw no third cat trailing behind them.

"My apprentice is fine. She's with Cloudheart at the Moonpool still." Willowleaf grunted.

"Where's the traitor?" Raggedwing growled loudly from the medicine cat den. Deadpaw quietly told him to stay down or his wound would reopen.

"Do explain the situation, Willowleaf." Stormstar strolled out of his den and confronted the returning cats. Willowleaf told the Clan that Brackentail had attacked Raggedwing, and when the injured cat returned she had rushed out to find Cloudheart holding the traitor down. She then lied, saying that she had said Stormstar had to make the final decision, but as they were dragging him back to camp, a fox came and killed Brackentail.

Willowleaf also said that she had killed the fox so it wasn't a threat to the other cats, and that Cloudheart and Shiningpaw were burying his body. Darkpaw's opinion of the deputy changed negatively.

"Brackentail… a traitor?" Spiderclaw was almost sobbing. Berrypaw looked fallen. Darkpaw frowned, as she knew Berrypaw knew it was because of Lionpaw.

"We've lost another warrior, traitor or not. StarClan, why are you letting this happen?" Lightheart cried out, and the Clan panicked.

"Calm yourselves!" Willowleaf hissed, "Darkpaw has received a prophecy! Tell the Clan, Darkpaw!" The deputy prodded her in the side, and Darkpaw cleared her throat. The whole Clan was looking at her expectantly, hopefully.

"Jayfeather spoke to me. He told me, _sprang from water, sprang from heart, if so the days ahead are dark. Sprang from darkness, aimed much higher, and then the days won't be so dire._" She recalled.

"Sprang from darkness." Willowleaf repeated, and looked down at Darkpaw. "Is it talking about you? Or, 'the days ahead are dark', is that you?"

The Clan mumbled amongst themselves once more.

"Did you receive any other message from StarClan?" Hornetflight asked hopefully, but Darkpaw shook her head.

Darkpaw looked at Flamekit and Tigerkit playing innocently just outside the nursery. Flowerbelly was standing with them. While the Clan discussed the issue, Darkpaw walked up to the lone queen.

"What is it?" Flowerbelly mumbled.

"I saw Scorchpaw up in StarClan." She purred softly. Flowerbelly perked up and seemed grateful. "He's Scorchwind now, a medicine cat of StarClan."

Flowerbelly practically cried as she heard the news. She sufficed to give a hearty nod to Darkpaw, all of her thanks showing in her eyes.

"What should we do now?" Darkpaw heard cats say. Darkpaw thought the same thing.

Suddenly Shiningpaw walked back into camp. Berrypaw's face lit up and went to greet her. He pushed his father's treachery and death to the back of his mind.

"Hey Berrypaw." She mewed in greeting.

"Shiningpaw." A voice mewed coolly. Pondpaw stepped up to the two apprentices.

"Pondpaw." Shiningpaw replied.

"The gathering is coming up." Pondpaw noted.

"Yes, it is. What of it?" Berrypaw butted in. Quailpaw walked over to the three.

"We can discuss everything there." Quailpaw said. Pondpaw shot him a look before turning back to Shiningpaw.

"I hope we'll all be able to go, that's all." She purred, and then Pondpaw and Quailpaw trotted off.

"What were they talking about?" Shiningpaw questioned, looking towards Berrypaw. Berrypaw ignored the question.

"I guess you'll see at the gathering." He muttered, and slunk away. Shiningpaw stared after him, confused. _What was it that was so important?_

Darkpaw slid up to Shiningpaw and blinked knowingly.

"Don't be upset, Shiningpaw. We'll get through this whole thing together." Darkpaw mewed. She knew Shiningpaw had no idea about Pondpaw's idea to leave the Clans and form a new one. However, she was certain that once she learned of it, she'd never leave with the other apprentices. "Sisters have to stick together."

"Right… we'll stick together, Darkpaw." Shiningpaw replied with little thought, only wondering what could be in store.

And Scorchwind watched from the medicine cat's den, unseen by his father Raggedwing or any other cat. Stars lined his pelt as he sat, and then satisfied that it was all that could be done for now, he walked back to StarClan, waiting for dusk to fall for the next piece to be played.

**

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How will the prophecy turn out? How will Shiningpaw react to Pondpaw's news? If you want to know, review and tune in next time to find out! Thanks everyone that has reviewed so far! Also pleaseee if you spot any inconsistencies, let me know!**


	7. First Allegiances and Family Trees

**THUNDERCLAN**

LEADER: Stormstar- Grey tom with yellow eyes

DEPUTY: Willowleaf- Fierce white and brown she-cat

MED. CAT: Darkpaw- Black she-cat with blue eyes (Mentor: Scorchwind)

WARRIORS

Raggedwing- Brown and grey tom with a white tipped tail (Mate: Flowerbelly)

Sharpnose- Golden tom with a grey muzzle (Mate: Spottedface)

Lightheart- Sister to Hornetflight, golden she-cat

Hornetflight- Sister to Lightheart, gold and grey she-cat

Spiderclaw- White she-cat (Mate: Brackentail)

Spottedface- White and brown she-cat (Mate: Sharpnose)

APPRENTICES

Shiningpaw- Pale she-cat (Mentor: Willowleaf)

Quailpaw- Skinny brown tom (Mentor: Lightheart)

Berrypaw- Brother to Lionpaw, brown tom with white paws (Mentor: Spiderclaw)

Pondpaw- Silver and white she-cat (Mentor: Sharpnose)

Deadpaw- Brown and grey tom, once belonged to RiverClan (Mentor: Hornetflight)

QUEENS AND KITS

Flowerbelly- Gold and brown she-cat (Flamekit (f), Tigerkit (m))

**SHADOWCLAN**

LEADER: Midnightstar- Black she-cat with green eyes

DEPUTY: Owleyes- Tan she-cat

MED. CAT: Cloudheart- White tom

WARRIORS

Clawlight- Brown tom with white socks (Mates: Bluebird, Shadefur)

Patcheye- Calico tom with an orange ring around one eye

Branchfoot- White she-cat with brown fur around her legs

Featherwings- White she-cat

APPRENTICES

Coldpaw- Grey tom with blue eyes (Mentor: Patcheye)

QUEENS AND KITS

Shadefur- Grey/silver she-cat, sister to Bluebird (Lilykit (f))

ELDERS

Roughpelt- Old brown and grey tom

**DEAD CATS**

STARCLAN

Jayfeather (m)

Scorchwind (m)

And many more…

DARK FOREST

Thistle (f)

Flash (m)

Spiritfeather (f)

Thinwhisper (m) –stolen-

Ravinestar (m) –stolen-

Marshstar (f) –stolen-

Lionpaw (f) –stolen-

Brackentail (m)

And many more…

**FAMILY TREES**

THUNDERCLAN

Spottedface (f) x Sharpnose (m) = Shiningpaw, Darkpaw, Quailpaw

Spiderclaw (f) x Brackentail (m) = Berrypaw, Lionpaw

Flowerbelly (f) x Raggedwing (m) = Flamekit, Tigerkit, Scorchwind, (Pondpaw, adopted)

????????? (f) x Stormstar (m) = Hornetflight, Lightheart

SHADOWCLAN

Bluebird (f) x Clawlight (m) = Coldpaw

Shadefur (f) x Clawlight (m) = Lilykit

* * *

**Hopefully that clears things up... the next chapter won't be out for a few more days most likely, hopefully by Friday, I have a lot of schoolwork to do. Thank you everyone who reviews! ;)**


	8. Chapter 7: Warriors

**Disclaimer: I don't own warriors and never will!**

**This chapter has a few timeskips near the end, but nothing more than a sunrise ahead in total! Enjoy this chapter and remember to review!**

**

* * *

**Coldpaw's ears twitched as he heard pawsteps tread into camp. It could only have been Cloudheart; everyone else was confined to camp.

"Cloudheart! You're back!" Featherwings shouted, running up to her brother. He greeted her affectionately and they walked to the medicine cat den. Coldpaw was curious as to what happened with Lionpaw at the Moonpool. She had been very bossy and rude at her time in ShadowClan, snapping at cats who tried to pitch in. Coldpaw felt as if she wasn't like that all the time though. Something heavy snagged her heart.

"Good thing Cloudheart is back," Patcheye sighed, relieved. "I was afraid a Dark Warrior would come take me away at any moment." Coldpaw smiled cheerily at his mentor, who smiled back. Patcheye got up to grab a mouse and Coldpaw dropped his smile to stare at the medicine cat den again.

"About time." A growl came from the warrior's den as Clawlight stepped out. The grouchy warrior's brown pelt was unkempt, while his white socks appeared clean. Clawlight had never been a happy cat, especially after his first mate, Bluebird, had died giving birth to Coldkit and his two brothers, who both died along with their mother. Coldpaw kept his distance from his father most of the time.

"That piece of mouse-dung shouldn't be helping the enemy Clan!" Clawlight hissed to no one in particular.

"We can't just forget about the other Clans, though! We need to help ThunderClan so we can stay strong as well." Patcheye growled from the fresh-kill pile. Clawlight sneered at him and walked up to his son.

"Coldpaw, you don't believe any of that fox-dung, do you?" Clawlight asked accusingly.

"Of course not, Clawlight." Coldpaw responded formally, "ShadowClan can remain strong on its own."

"Obviously," Clawlight grumbled, and stalked off elsewhere. Coldpaw let out a sigh and his mentor padded up to him.

"Any ShadowClan cat can tell you don't care a bit for your father." Patcheye murmured sympathetically. "You don't have to be so formal around him."

"Bluebird would be upset if I acted against him!" Coldpaw said, exasperated. Patcheye sighed. No one had quite known what Bluebird had seen in the ragged tom, but they had been deeply in love. Bluebird's twin sister, Shadefur, had always been happy for them, even if she wasn't fond of Clawlight herself.

"Whatever you think is right is right for you, Coldpaw." Patcheye replied.

Suddenly a dark figure leapt onto a risen rock. The rock was surrounded by weeds and smaller stones. Coldpaw looked up to see ShadowClan's leader, Midnightstar, with her jet black pelt and emerald eyes.

"All cats old enough to catch their own pretty gather aside the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" She yowled, and the ShadowClan cats assembled.

Clawlight, Branchfoot, Featherwings, and Patcheye gathered in one clump, assembling the warriors. Owleyes, the deputy, sat beneath her leader. Coldpaw sat with Roughpelt, the last elder, and Cloudheart sat with Shadefur and her kit, Lilykit.

ShadowClan had dwindled to such low numbers, but Midnightstar's face was not one of depression, but one of firmness. Midnightstar had never been one to admit defeat.

"As all of you know, we are dying." She hissed, letting it sink in. "But that will not stop ShadowClan." There was a cry of agreement from Clawlight.

"The Gathering approaches in only a few sunrises, and the entire Clan will go." Midnightstar decided. "That is every single one of us, from Lilykit to Roughpelt."

The few Clan cats looked among themselves and decided that made the most sense. There were a grand total of eleven cats, including Lilykit, left in ShadowClan.

"Until then…" Midnightstar was cut off as Cloudheart approached the Highrock. "Yes, Cloudheart?"

"I have something to announce about ThunderClan." The medicine cat started. Clawlight narrowed his eyes.

"Lionpaw has been stolen, and the new medicine cat of ThunderClan is Darkpaw. I don't know if I should be the one telling you all this, but I felt it was necessary to clear things up." He dipped his head and went back to his place beside Shadefur.

"Good, that apprentice wouldn't shut up!" Roughpelt muttered. Coldpaw had been annoyed by Lionpaw too, but one thing still itched in his mind. She had begun to tell him something, but Cloudheart took her away.

"Anyway, until the Gathering, every cat needs to stay in camp, especially Cloudheart. Cloudheart, I could care less about ThunderClan's dilemmas, you need to stay and protect ShadowClan." Midnightstar hissed evenly. Cloudheart nodded obediently.

"Very well, that is all." She finished and hopped off of the rock.

* * *

"And this?" The ginger tom asked.

"Marigold, to disinfect cuts." The black furred apprentice responded. The tom flicked his tail to another plant.

"Catmint, to cure greencough!" The she-cat mewed. The tom nodded and thought for a bit.

"How about celandine?"

"Ah, uh…" Darkpaw stumbled, not remembering. Scorchwind shrugged.

"Celandine is useful for treating eye ailments, besides permanent blindness. Don't worry about not remembering, we've only just started."

"Right." Darkpaw nodded in thanks. _Being a medicine cat is harder than it looks, but I'm not unhappy about my destined path._

"Watermint?"

"Treats belly aches." Darkpaw mewed curtly.

The herb quizzing continued for a while until Darkpaw let out a huge yawn. Scorchwind chuckled and said, "Tired?"

"I don't get how that's possible… I'm dreaming, after all." Darkpaw said sleepily.

"Things that occur in your dreams often have effects in the real world." Scorchwind replied, and then suddenly looked behind him. There was nothing there.

"What is it?" Darkpaw inquired.

"Oh, nothing. It's best we end this session for tonight. I'll see you tomorrow night." Scorchwind walked off as Darkpaw said farewell.

Still sleepy, Darkpaw rose from her spot in the medicine cat den as she awoke. Cats were already walking around camp. She spotted Deadpaw chatting with Berrypaw at the fresh-kill pile. Hornetflight and Spiderclaw walked up to them and said something before walking to the camp entrances. The two apprentices trotted after them, ready to hunt. Darkpaw's whiskers twitched and looked the other way.

Pondpaw was talking with Quailpaw, but she was doing most of the talking, it seemed. Quailpaw was nodding dumbly and agreeing at points, and Darkpaw felt bad for her brother. She waltzed up to them.

"Hi, Quailpaw. Pondpaw." Darkpaw only glanced briefly at Pondpaw. "What's up?" Pondpaw exchanged a glance with Quailpaw. Quailpaw opened his mouth to speak, but Pondpaw spoke first.

"Quailpaw says you don't want to join the new Clan." Pondpaw's voice was sugar filled.

"That's correct. As medicine cat, I need to protect ThunderClan, not any other Clan!" Darkpaw hissed.

"And I respect that," Pondpaw purred, "But if ThunderClan falls apart, don't you want a Clan to fall back on? Our new Clan will always be there for you, Darkpaw, even if you don't want it now."

Darkpaw was chilled by her words; was ThunderClan going to die out?

"Come, Quailpaw. We have to discuss things." Pondpaw walked off. Quailpaw started to follow her but Darkpaw stepped in front of him, eyes narrowed.

"Quailpaw, why do you hang out with her?" Darkpaw demanded. Her brother tried to look fierce as he responded, but it was a weak mask.

"Pondpaw is sweet and pretty, and she has great ideas! We're going to rule the new Clan together." Quailpaw ending up purring at the fantasy.

"Whatever you say." Darkpaw retorted. "Shiningpaw and I are not going to join your Clan, and I doubt Coldpaw would want to either; it'll be all ThunderClan cats besides him."

"I'll follow Pondpaw to the end." Quailpaw mewed, his voice firm. Darkpaw blinked, and the siblings went towards opposite paths.

The next sunrise, Berrypaw, Pondpaw, and Shiningpaw were woken up early by their mentors.

"Time for your exams!" Spiderclaw purred, prodding her son awake.

"Exams? What?" Berrypaw yawned as he rose.

"Your warrior exams! Stay focused!" Willowleaf grunted.

Shiningpaw bolted up. Soon, she, Berrypaw, and Pondpaw would become warriors.

"Willowleaf, looks like Hornetflight wants to talk to you." Sharpnose observed, seeing the honey and slate colored she-cat enter the apprentice's den.

"I've spoken with Stormstar, and he says that Deadpaw can join in for the exams as well. Deadpaw even says he was going to be made a warrior before RiverClan fell apart, and I've trained with him, he seems ready." Hornetflight said quickly, before Willowleaf could object.

"Alright," she muttered. Sharpnose nudged Pondpaw up and the silver white apprentice stretched.

"Let's be going, then." Spiderclaw said cheerily. The seven cats fetched Deadpaw, who was talking to Raggedwing when they found him. Raggedwing's wound was healing well, but Deadpaw wanted to make sure. Darkpaw was glad for the help.

The four mentors and four apprentices circled around a dead stump near the camp. It was said a tree fell from there ages ago, crushing the camp.

"We'll be watching from the trees, catch as much as you can. Good luck." Willowleaf instructed, and the four older cats darted away.

"Where should we begin?" Berrypaw was practically bouncing up and down.

"I'll go towards the ShadowClan border." Pondpaw volunteered, and walked away.

"I'll take WindClan's then." Shiningpaw sighed and went in the opposite direction. Berrypaw watched her until she disappeared behind the trees and then turned to Deadpaw.

"Hey, before we start, can I show you something?" Berrypaw asked, and Deadpaw shrugged. "Sure thing."

Berrypaw led Deadpaw to the old badger set he had shown Shiningpaw not long ago.

"This rock has a lot of unnatural scratches on it, like Twolegs did it." Berrypaw pointed out, inhaling the rock's scent.

"Well it certainly is strange. And only you would head this deep into a badger set to check for rocks." Deadpaw mused. Berrypaw grinned in response.

"I've only ever shown this to you and Shiningpaw, so keep it a secret!" Berrypaw asked of his friend, and Deadpaw agreed. The two then split up for their warrior exams, and Berrypaw was glowing.

Shiningpaw sank her teeth into a rabbit that had crossed over from the WindClan border. _No point in caring about this boundary anymore. _She thought, and buried her kill for later.

Deadpaw expertly retrieved a fish from the river and bit into its gills to stop its squirming. "I hope they don't mind fish." He grumbled with his mouth full of fish.

Berrypaw scrambled to catch a fleeing mouse, trapping it by its tail. He bit into it quickly before it could escape, and buried it immediately. He looked around for traces of his friends, or mentor, but didn't see anyone. He sniffed the air and caught vague scents from every direction. Berrypaw decided it would be best to just keep catching prey and see what happened.

Pondpaw approached the ShadowClan border doubtfully. If anyone saw her, she would be punished, not made into a warrior. She peered as far as she could over the border, but couldn't see the camp. Scowling, she turned to find prey. It wasn't worth delaying her warrior ceremony just to see the ShadowClan cats she would see in a few sunrises anyway.

* * *

"Well done," Willowleaf purred, "I hope you're all looking forward to becoming warriors!" It was rare for the deputy to praise any apprentice with a purr.

Pondpaw grinned, and Berrypaw smiled widely at Shiningpaw. She gave a brief smile and even Deadpaw looked pleased.

* * *

"Deadpaw?" Berrypaw padded up to the muddy colored tom.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you won't join the new Clan?" Berrypaw kept his voice low.

"I'm positive." Deadpaw's whiskers twitched in irritation. "Pondpaw doesn't seem to trust me, and I don't trust her."

"Why not? She's smart, funny, and very kind." Berrypaw insisted. His companion snorted in response.

"I don't know what _you _see in her, but I see coldness in her eyes when she looks at me. What about Shiningpaw?" Deadpaw knew of Berrypaw's infatuation. Berrypaw looked down uncertainly.

"I do like Shiningpaw, but she's been distant since Brackentail died. Pondpaw is always around…" Berrypaw muttered, and was unsure again.

* * *

"Pondclaw! Berryfrost! Shiningsky! Deadpath!"

The Clan cats cheered for their newest warriors.

Darkpaw looked up at her sister with pride.

Quailpaw stared at Pondclaw in awe.

Spiderclaw's eyes were joyful as she watched Berryfrost, yet she couldn't help recalling Lionpaw. If she had simply given up the medicine cat dream, Lionpaw would be up there too.

No one cheered quite as hard for Deadpath as they did for the other new warriors.

"You four will sit vigil tonight, and furthermore, the gathering is coming up in three sunrises. Every ThunderClan cat will be going; we can't risk leaving any cat back at camp. Our numbers are low, we should stick together."

No cat disagreed.

* * *

"Pondclaw! You're going to be Pondstar one day, right?" Flamekit squeaked at the warrior whose vigil had just finished. Pondclaw shushed her gently but nodded.

"And you'll be a proud warrior of PondClan."

"I'm gonna be a warrior!" Flamekit cried happily, running towards her mother in the nursery. "I'm gonna be a warrior!"

"Yes, you will. A strong ThunderClan warrior." Flowerbelly chuckled, and Flamekit's happiness faltered. She looked back at Pondclaw, who winked, and Flamekit was joyous again.

* * *

**Not as long as I hoped it'd be, but I hope the short timeskip parts have the effect I wanted them to.**


	9. Chapter 8: Gathering

**I'm sorry about the slow update time on this one, there was a death in the family and we were all pretty scrambled this week. Anyways, enjoy and look forward to the next one within the next week, I'm finally getting to read Bluestar's Prophecy so I might be a while ;)**

"Shiningsky!" Berryfrost purred, running up to the other new warrior.

"Hey Berryfrost." Shiningsky replied, observing him. He had become lithe and muscled, a strong warrior. His chocolate fur was smoothed down, and his white socks were dirtied.

"Do you, uh, want to hunt with me?" The tom asked hesitantly, and Shiningsky blinked. The memory of Lionpaw asking her to become her medicine cat apprentice pounded in her mind. She had refused not only because it was not the path for her, but because of the things not doable on that path.

_The most important thing… love, I suppose._

Shiningsky walked off with Berryfrost, thinking of her future.

Back at camp, Pondclaw chatted with Quailpaw.

"Quailpaw, you'll be deputy." Pondclaw purred, "Also, we'll need a medicine cat. You said Darkpaw refuses to come?"

"Right, she doesn't want to abandon ThunderClan." Quailpaw said sadly.

"As I've heard. It's too bad," Pondclaw sniffed, "We'll be fine on our own. We'll get Coldpaw to replace her."

"Right, Pondclaw." Quailpaw agreed hurriedly, but was still saddened by his sister's rejection of the new Clan. "Will Deadpath be with us?"

"Maybe." Pondclaw looked annoyed. She looked around before saying, "Berryfrost told him about the new Clan, so there's no getting out of it now."

"He might not want to go." Quailpaw reminded.

"Either way, doesn't matter. We can build up the new Clan in our own ways." Pondclaw purred, giving Quailpaw a lick. The tom leaned onto the older she-cat lovingly. Pondclaw remembered when he would curl up next to her in the apprentice's den. _But that's over now._

In the forest, Berryfrost wanted to say so many things to Shiningsky, but said what was on the top priority list first.

"Pondclaw is going to make a new Clan, and there was never a proper time to ask you this before. Pondclaw, myself, Quailpaw, Flamekit, Tigerkit, and possibly Coldpaw and maybe others are going to make a new Clan together. Are you coming?" Berryfrost asked, daring himself to stay focused. Shiningsky was shocked, a new Clan?

"There's only ever been four Clans in the forest." Shiningsky muttered. "Why would we make a fifth?"

"You're forgetting SkyClan." Berryfrost retorted. "But we're making this new Clan for our safety. Pondclaw wants us to go out to the mountains, so we're not under StarClan's skies. If we aren't under the skies of StarClan, the Dark Forest cats won't be able to hurt us, right?"

"Pondclaw… is she going to be leader?" Shiningsky interrogated, and the chocolate tom blinked. He wasn't sure.

"I don't know… I hardly know the details. You'd be better off asking Quailpaw."

Shiningsky thought of her little brother back at camp, enamored with Pondclaw. She shook her head and sighed.

"Anything else you want to tell me, Berryfrost?" Shiningsky prompted, and the tom looked nervous.

"I… um…" Berryfrost thought of all the times he had followed after the pale she-cat when they were apprentices, and then thought of Pondclaw. She was so inviting, so warm, and had a sense for everything. "It's nothing."

Shiningsky blinked, but then shrugged. "Let's head back; Stormstar should be picking who gets to go to the gathering." Berryfrost quickly agreed and the two went back to camp.

"I've decided that all of ThunderClan will be going to the gathering. It's not safe to leave anyone at camp." Stormstar's voice rumbled like thunder.

"What about Flamekit and Tigerkit?" Flowerbelly asked worriedly from the nursery. "And Raggedwing?"

"I'm well enough to travel." Raggedwing grunted.

"Flamekit and Tigerkit can be carried by warriors." Wilowleaf insisted.

Darkpaw knew that her leader's words made sense. However, the Dark Warriors hadn't stolen anyone, ThunderClan or ShadowClan, as far as they knew, for quite a few sunrises. Lionpaw had seemed to be the final one. Shiningsky's eyes were clouded, and Darkpaw figured she was thinking the same thing.

"The gathering is tonight… let's hope ShadowClan is alright." Lightheart mewed, and the Clan cats had a saddening aura around them. Stormstar left his perch and the Clan scrambled, off to do other things.

Darkpaw looked to Deadpath, who was distracted by something invisible, it seemed. "Deadpath," she called, and he looked towards her, startled.

"What is it?"

"Are you thinking of RiverClan?" Darkpaw asked kindly, hoping she wouldn't touch a nerve.

"Oh, yes." Deadpath mumbled his reply. "Doesn't matter anymore."

"But it does! Why were you called Deadkit?" Darkpaw questioned, wanting to know. Deadpath shot her a look and didn't reply at first. But then he sighed.

"I don't know. I might not even be a Clan cat." He spat. "I wasn't born to RiverClan, I was found on the border of RiverClan and ShadowClan."

Darkpaw had only silence to say to that. "You… you could be ShadowClan, then?"

"I don't even want to think about it! Why am I even talking to you?" Deadpath hissed, and sprinted off. Darkpaw sat uncomfortably, dragging the dirt with her paws.

Stormstar led his Clan to the border between ShadowClan and ThunderClan, where the gathering would have to take place for now. They were the first to arrive, ShadowClan was nowhere in sight.

"Where are those fox-hearted scraps of fur?" Deadpath growled. His attitude had only become worse after Darkpaw confronted him. She felt bad every time she saw him.

"I see them coming!" Hornetflight insisted. Shiningsky strained her eyes and saw the scrawny dark shape of Midnightstar leading her tiny Clan. As ShadowClan met ThunderClan, all cats felt their hearts drop to their stomachs. The Clans were fading fast.

"Greetings, Midnightstar. I see we both brought our entire Clans." Stormstar said gravely.

"Don't think highly of yourself because your Clan has a few more cats than mine," Midnightstar hissed, "We're perfectly capable of winning any fights."

"Please, Midnightstar, we're not here to kill ourselves." Owleyes scolded, and the ShadowClan leader simply grunted at her deputy.

"Times are worse than ever, but the flow of Dark Forest cats seems to have stopped. That's a good thing." Stormstar noted. "However, I am proposing that we stick together. ShadowClan and ThunderClan should work- "

Stormstar was interrupted by a loud yowl from Midnightstar.

"Are you saying you want to join with us? Think again! Although we're becoming desperate, we would never accept ThunderClan among us!" The leader growled, her eyes blazing.

"Calm yourself, we don't have to if you don't want to." Stormstar's neck fur rose. "I was just suggesting the idea, that's all."

"Hmph." Midnightstar calmed down just a notch. "This gathering isn't getting us anywhere."

"Let's just calmly discuss things. We have to think of a solution." Stormstar put emphasis on 'calmly', and then the cats began to chat.

Pondclaw saw Coldpaw sitting by his father. She walked over to him confidently.

"Oh, Pondpaw. How are you?" Coldpaw asked genially, but Pondclaw rolled her eyes. She looked up at Clawlight; he couldn't be around for this. She glared at Coldpaw, looking up at his father again, until Coldpaw got the picture.

"Oh, Clawlight, Shadefur was looking for you before…" Coldpaw began shakily, and his father widened his eyes.

"Really? Let's see what she wants." Clawlight spoke smoothly, a hint of annoyance in his voice, and padded away. As soon as Clawlight was out of the area, Pondclaw leaned in towards the ShadowClan apprentice.

"It's Pondclaw now," she said proudly, and realized at once that Stormstar had not announced her and the other new warriors.

"Oh, congratulations." Coldpaw meowed nonchalantly.

"You don't have to act so stiff, you sent Clawlight away." Pondclaw growled.

"Stiff?" Coldpaw mewed uncertainly.

"Didn't Lionpaw tell you about the new Clan?"

"What?" The grey tom tilted his head.

"I and other cats from ThunderClan are leaving the lake to go to the mountains. We're going to make a new Clan, under a different sky, where the Dark Forest won't threaten us."

Coldpaw's heart pounded. Away from the Dark Forest, away from StarClan, away from his father.

"What do you say?" Pondclaw purred kindly.

"When do we leave?" Coldpaw answered as his response. Pondclaw grinned and said, "Soon. At the next half-moon, most likely. I'll go get the others."

Berryfrost was in the middle of a tricky conversation with Shiningsky.

"Shiningsky, uhm, I had wanted to say something else to you before, while we were hunting." Berryfrost began awkwardly. Shiningsky braced herself for a confession; she wasn't sure how to respond.

"I think I- " Berryfrost was cut off by Pondclaw bounding up to them.

"Come on you two, we're assembling the new Clan." She drummed her paws against the grass.

"We're leaving now?" Shiningsky asked, surprised, but Pondclaw shook her head. The three walked back to Coldpaw. Quailpaw was with him, muttering something in his ear.

"Where's Flamekit and Tigerkit?" Pondclaw questioned, looking around.

"They're playing with Lilykit, I don't think we could drag them away." Coldpaw confirmed.

"That's alright; we can take your sister to the mountains as well." Pondclaw said brightly, and ran to get them. Coldpaw looked like he was going to stop her, but he faltered and slunk back next to Quailpaw.

"Flamekit, Tigerkit!" Pondclaw called, greeting the kits with their new playmate.

"Pondclaw! Can we tell Lilykit about the secret?" Tigerkit asked, excitement building in his eyes.

"Sure thing!" Pondclaw purred, "Lilykit can come along as well." Flamekit and Tigerkit looked ecstatic and started both talking at once to the dazed Lilykit.

"New Clan?" Lilykit mewed unsurely, "But ShadowClan and ThunderClan have always been the only Clans."

"But we're gonna make a _new _one!" Flamekit insisted. Pondclaw couldn't help feeling amused at the ignorant kits.

"We'll get to play together all the time in PondClan!" Tigerkit said happily, and Pondclaw frowned, hoping he wouldn't give away their secret so easily. The silver she-kit still seemed unconvinced. Suddenly, a weary grey cat approached from behind the kit.

"Lilykit, we have to go with Clawlight, come along." The she-cat mewed anxiously, but Lilykit protested.

"Shadefur, are we joining the new Clan?" Lilykit asked innocently. Pondclaw froze. _That fox-brained kit gave it away! That's just like ShadowClan… I bet Coldpaw is spilling secrets left and right._

"New Clan?" Shadefur's eyes widened. "What do you mean?" She looked down at Flamekit and Tigerkit, who were as still as stones. They knew Pondclaw had told them not to give it away, but they had blown their cover!

"Flamekit, Tigerkit and Pondclaw told me they're making a new Clan!" Lilykit whined, and Shadefur's eyes went to Pondclaw. They were soft eyes, scared eyes.

"Is that true? Answer me honestly, I can't do anything about it." Shadefur asked, her tail going protectively around Lilykit.

"Yes, it's true. I'm forming a new Clan." Pondclaw replied, deciding to play her cards differently. "Would you like to join, Shadefur?"

Pondclaw saw Shadefur freeze. The queen stared at the ground for a few long seconds before looking back up at Pondclaw.

"Is Clawlight nearby?" She whispered, afraid to turn.

"He's talking to Cloudheart." Pondclaw replied confusedly.

"Okay… where are you taking this new Clan?" Shadefur questioned.

""To the mountains. A different set of ancestors will watch over us there." Pondclaw purred, recalling tales of the Tribe of Rushing Water and their warrior ancestors; the Tribe of Endless Hunting.

"The mountains? Wow!" Lilykit seemed excited instead of annoyed now.

"We'll be safe there; the tribe is too kind to strangers, they won't hurt us." Pondclaw insisted.

"You speak as if you know from experience." Shadefur accused, staring confusedly at the ThunderClan warrior. Pondclaw just sniffed and replied, "It's your choice, Shadefur. We'll leave at dawn on the next half-moon."

Shiningsky watched them talk curiously, trying to detect any hidden feelings in Pondclaw's voice. She could feel anxiety pouring out from Berryfrost next to her.

"I wonder if Shadefur will come with us…" Quailpaw mumbled, his own thoughts unclear.

"Who knows." Shiningsky replied. Coldpaw looked away.

"I'll come with you!" Shadefur said quickly, "I don't believe there is a place for me here anymore."

"Ah, excellent! You can be a mother to Tigerkit and Flamekit as well." Pondclaw purred. _Great, now have the basics down._

"What about Flowerbelly?" Flamekit mewed, sounding hurt. "Can't she still be our mother?"

"I'll be your mother from now on, Flamekit. At least, once we start living together." Shadefur murmured to the kit. Pondclaw was impressed; the queen had caught on quickly. She would have to chat with her later. Pondclaw reminded her once again of the half-moon meeting and padded back to the other future PondClan members.

"It looks like Shadefur found out." Quailpaw growled at Pondclaw's return, but the warrior she-cat shrugged.

"It's alright. Flamekit and Tigerkit need a new mother anyway. Shadefur is taking it very well."

"Well, that's good." Berryfrost added helpfully, "Maybe there will be more queens in the future…" he trailed off, sneaking a shy glance at Shiningsky. The she-cat in question only sighed inwardly. It was obvious what he wanted to say, but now was not the time.

Suddenly, Stormstar appeared and Pondclaw froze. _Had he heard anything?_

"Come on, we're leaving. Nothing is going to be accomplished here." The leader grunted, and walked with Willowleaf back towards camp. Deadpath was slightly behind them, followed by Darkpaw. The rest of the Clan trailed after them, and Pondclaw waited until everyone was ahead of her before walking. She snuck a look back towards the leaving ShadowClan, but Shadefur was already out of view.


	10. Chapter 9: Dark Forest Visit

**I don't own warriors and never will! Enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to review. The next chapter will be juicy, and if you want it to come faster, reviews always help! ;3 And don't forget to point out any inconsistencies for me when you review, it really does help!  
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* * *

**"We're going to do _what_?" Darkpaw asked incredulously, stopping her sorting of herbs.

Scorchwind had suggested that the two of them travel to the Dark Forest, without Jayfeather's permission. It had been a few sunrises after the gathering, and Darkpaw had not been in a good mood. Shiningsky was looking as if she was going to join Pondclaw and her followers, and Darkpaw did not approve.

"We have to do it now, I don't have much time to get Jayfeather to stay away."

"He wouldn't let us go, then. That's what you're saying."

"Uh, right." Scorchwind mumbled.

"Then we shouldn't go!" Darkpaw hissed, and went back to sorting the herbs in her dream.

"We must! Don't you want to find out what they're planning in there?" Scorchwind pleaded, knocking the herbs away with his tail. Darkpaw growled but waited for him to continue. "The Dark Forest warriors haven't stolen anyone in many sunrises. They're doing something!"

"Maybe so." Darkpaw began, "But how would we even get there?"

"Oh it's not far. Jayfeather went there once a long time ago, you know."

"Then why don't we take him? Oh yes, he's not letting us go in the first place!" Darkpaw said, exasperated. She stepped back from the swatted herb pile and looked up at Scorchwind angrily.

"Oh, come on, Darkpaw. StarClan needs you to do this."

"Then why is Jayfeather disapproving?"

"Because… because, ugh. He doesn't want us to go just yet, but I think we have to! Who are you going to trust, a cat who has been dead for a hundred moons, or me?" Scorchwind asked, but realized he shouldn't have asked.

"You know my answer to that." Darkpaw sighed. The two cats sat in silence for a while. Scorchwind started to turn around.

"I guess Jayfeather was right. You're too stubborn to listen." Scorchwind said with an exaggerated sigh, but a twitch of annoyance from Darkpaw made him continue. "You only think about you and your sister, but not the future of your Clan, and all of the Clans. If you would only come with me, we might put a stop to this sooner rather than later."

Darkpaw knew he was egging her on, but his points were sensible.

"Alright, fine. I'll go." Darkpaw gave in, and Scorchwind leapt up happily. "Will it be dangerous?"

"Oh, very." Scorchwind said good naturedly, and began to walk off.

"Wait up!" Darkpaw followed after him, and the two took a walk through StarClan's grounds.

They followed a clear stream that flowed slowly and calmly. Mice scattered along its banks as the two cats walked by. Darkpaw saw large flat rocks on the far side of the stream, where three cats were lazily resting and taking in sunlight. They looked content and peaceful.

As they went further upstream, they came to a waterfall that poured smoothly into the lower river. Darkpaw wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but she saw eyes peering out from behind the falls.

"Is there a cave behind the waterfall?" She asked quietly to Scorchwind. The dark ginger tom nodded and replied, "Behind there is a special place where usually only leaders and medicine cats go. It is one of the places that we can watch over the living cats."

"Is Jayfeather there?" the apprentice asked, and Scorchwind shook his head. She asked no further questions as they passed the waterfall and made their way to an area where the trees were closely packed together.

"Stay beside me." Scorchwind warned, and they weaved through the trees. Although the forest became denser, the trees became thinner. The lush grasses and trees that Darkpaw had spotted just before had faded and become scrawny and dark.

The sun was casting eerie light onto the forest floor now, and the air was thickening. Darkpaw found herself breathing slower, and willed herself to move on. Scorchwind's figure was getting further ahead, and Darkpaw ran faster to catch up.

Mud splashed against her fur as she ran on the swampy grounds. Fog lowered and thickened to shield her view, and Darkpaw attempted to call out for her mentor. Her throat seemed choked and with a rush, Darkpaw ran as fast as possible. In her quickness she collapsed against a furry surface, and she gasped as a figure loomed over her.

"What have we here?" The dark shape breathed onto her face. Darkpaw slashed at the figure immediately and it cried out, but no blood fell from its face. It faded, and with a startling realization, whatever it was, the cat howled and fled. Darkpaw panted as she recovered from the strange cat's appearance.

"Darkpaw!" A voice hissed, and the black apprentice looked to see Scorchwind. "Where were you? And what happened?"

"I couldn't see you anymore, so I ran… I ran into a Dark Forest warrior, it seems." Darkpaw mumbled, still breathing heavily. "I slashed at him and he seemed to fade before running."

Scorchwind sighed in relief and licked her shoulder reassuringly. "Your power is beginning to reveal itself, this should help us greatly."

"What power? I thought medicine cats could defeat the dark cats like that."

"No, we only have so much power on their grounds. But you can defeat them here, and you will be able to do other things as well." Scorchwind explained.

"What kinds of other things?" Darkpaw shivered. It was cold in the Dark Forest.

"We'll talk later, let's get to a clearing first." Scorchwind walked slowly this time, so Darkpaw couldn't lose him. The fog cleared and Darkpaw could see a clearing through the trees. A gnarled stump was fixed in the center of the clearing, raised above all other patches of land. A brown tabby tom with piercing icy blue eyes was sitting calmly on it. A silver and white tabby she-cat with the same shade of eye color was beside him. The two were focused on each other, and didn't see the two cats in the trees.

"Don't say a word, we're here to spy." Scorchwind said as quietly as he could, and Darkpaw nodded. The two watched.

"Hawkfrost, why don't we just steal everyone away? There's nothing they can do about it if we take that approach." The she-cat mewed icily.

"My father would not want it like that, and neither do I." The tabby's voice rumbled throughout the clearing. "There will be a battle, the Clans must go down."

"If you say so." The she-cat retorted. "Shall I rally the troops?" Her voice was laced with sarcasm.

"Don't be like that, Ivyleap." Hawkfrost growled. "I don't want to have to do anything to you like I did to Dovewing." His voice was playful.

"Oh, Hawkfrost." Ivyleap purred, and they rubbed against each other.

"Yuck." Darkpaw looked away. Scorchwind looked stunned. He motioned for Darkpaw to move away from the clearing so they could talk. Her footsteps felt heavy.

"Do you know who they were?" Scorchwind demanded, his voice serious.

"I've… I've heard of Hawkfrost." Darkpaw admitted.

"Well, I can't believe that we got to see Ivyleap! She betrayed her entire Clan for Hawkfrost!" Scorchwind growled.

"Who is Dovewing?" Darkpaw asked, confused. "They mentioned a cat called that."

"Dovewing is Ivyleap's sister, and Jayfeather's cousin. She was one of the Three. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of her over Jayfeather or Lionblaze, though." The older medicine cat explained.

"Wait, why haven't I heard of her? I know Jayfeather and Lionblaze, but the third of the Three was only vaguely mentioned."

"Dovewing was a bit of an enigma. She died when she should not have, but the Clans moved on. Ivyleap played a role in her death." Scorchwind said sadly. "I've learned a lot from Jayfeather about his family history."

"Really? I figured he was more of the silent type, from what I've seen of him." Darkpaw replied curtly.

"Me too. I think this whole Dark Forest thing is making everyone confused." Scorchwind sighed. "Come on, we should listen a little longer." The two returned to the edge of the clearing. More cats had gathered around the tree stump as they talked.

A dark grey tom and a cream furred queen had gathered beneath the stump. The queen had two kits with her, and the tom was arguing with Hawkfrost. Hawkfrost's voice rose angrily, and he hissed at the grey tom.

Darkpaw realized with wonder that the two cats and their kits were Clan cats. They smelled faintly of RiverClan.

"We'll never bow down to you, Hawkfrost!" The grey tom growled. "Sandfur and I will never support the Dark Forest!"

"Then you won't be getting anywhere, will you, Rockfall? Ivyleap…?" Hawkfrost swung his gaze to his mate and at once the she-cat lunged at Rockfall. The tom stepped to the side and swatted at Ivyleap with his huge paws. But Ivyleap was too quick, and she tackled the large tom to the ground.

Rockfall tried to claw Ivyleap on her belly, but she jumped upwards from her position over the prisoner, and landed at his throat.

"Rockfall!" Sandfur cried, and a white tom who seemed to come out of nowhere tackled her to the ground. He bared his fangs and let a single claw puncture her shoulder. Blood trickled out and the two abandoned kits mewed for their mother.

"Don't hurt Sandfur…" Rockfall managed to growl as Ivyleap pressed against his neck.

"But we already have." Ivyleap whispered, and bit into his neck. Blood poured from the wound and Rockfall choked.

Sandfur moaned in grief and the two kits screeched.

"Shut up!" The white tom growled, lifting off of Sandfur for a moment to take care of the kits.

"Don't you dare!" Sandfur yowled and knocked her attacker away with the strength she had left.

Scorchwind seemed frozen in the trees, and Darkpaw felt more scared than ever. Her resolve was clear now, though. She had to defeat the Dark Forest!

"Flash, move out of the way!" A brown she-cat with spiky fur tackled Sandfur down. Darkpaw became aware of the hundreds of eyes staring out from the trees. A few locked their eyes with her, but made no moves. Darkpaw shivered, moving closer to Scorchwind.

"Thistle, I can take care of it." Flash growled, but Ivyleap left Rockfall's side and tackled Flash to the ground.

"I don't think you can." Ivyleap spat to the white tom, who struggled to get up.

"Flash is the cat I got rid of when I was still alive!" Scorchwind gasped, and Darkpaw looked back at the Dark Forest warrior. She was only a kit when he had attacked, but she vaguely recalled his menacing presence. At the moment though, he wasn't so menacing under Ivyleap's claws.

"You failed to steal ThunderClan's medicine cat, and you even managed to send her apprentice to StarClan!" Ivyleap hissed.

"Let's… let's not get hasty, Spiritfeather did join us, after all…" Flash sputtered, and Ivyleap reluctantly loosened her grip.

Thistle picked up the two kits by their scruffs, who mewled for Sandfur desperately.

"Don't hurt my kits…" Sandfur sobbed, lumbering towards Rockfall's body.

"Can you be killed here?" Darkpaw asked her mentor in awe, but Scorchwind only dipped his head to look at the ground.

"Are you going to obey now, Sandfur." Hawkfrost said icily. He said it like a sentence instead of a question.

Sandfur feebly dipped her head to the tom in charge and was corralled into the woods by Thistle, who still carried the two kits. Ivyleap removed herself from Flash's fur and the white tom ran after his mate and Sandfur. He glared back at Ivyleap before disappearing into the darkness.

"Ivyleap, we'll attack before the next Gathering of the two remaining Clans." Hawkfrost decided suddenly, and hopped off the decaying stump to be with Ivyleap. She purred and the two wandered off.

Scorchwind and Darkpaw were silent. So much had happened in so little time.

"We need to prepare. Wake up, Darkpaw, and I'll speak with you again tomorrow night." Scorchwind murmured, and began to walk back on the winding forest path to StarClan's hunting grounds.

"Wait, Scorchwind!" Darkpaw called, and unlike most StarClan cats, he turned to face her.

"Yes?"

"Do… do you know of the prophecy Jayfeather gave me?" Darkpaw asked, "_Sprang from water, sprang from heart, if so the days ahead are dark. Sprang from darkness, aimed much higher, and then the days won't be so dire._"

"Yes."

"What does it mean? Does darkness refer to me?" Darkpaw questioned, hoping she could get information out of the StarClan cat. She knew deep down he wouldn't give her a drop of information, if he was truly like other StarClan cats that gave prophecies.

"I can't tell you anything, you know that. Now wake up." Scorchwind growled with humor in his voice. He turned and walked away, but Darkpaw's vision faded before she could say another word.

* * *

"Darkpaw, get up!" Shiningsky hissed, prodding her younger sister in the side.

"Wha- what is it?" Darkpaw yawned, and rose from the ground. She recalled her meeting with Scorchwind in the Dark Forest.

"Were you having a dream?" She asked, her face anxious.

"Yes… I was, but don't worry, it was ending anyway." Darkpaw replied.

"Alright… I was just worried that nothing was going on up in StarClan." Shiningsky sighed, but she still seemed nervous.

"StarClan… StarClan are doing the best they can." Darkpaw responded, and Shiningsky locked eyes with her.

"I'll believe you for now, Darkpaw, but I don't know what to think anymore." She finally sighed, and walked out of the medicine cat den. Darkpaw peered out over the brambles and saw the sky was still dark. No one seemed to be up, except for Lightheart, who was guarding the camp.

"I hope I'm right." Darkpaw muttered to herself, curled up into a ball and fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 10: The Mountains

**Thanks to all my reviewers so far =) I really appreciate it! Don't forget to review on new chapters!**

**Enjoy this latest chapter.**

**

* * *

**Sunrises passed, and Darkpaw continued to meet with Scorchwind as she slept for more medicine cat training. They didn't go back to the Dark Forest, and although Jayfeather never outright accused them of going, he seemed like he had known what had happened.

It was becoming dangerously close to the half-moon meeting time. Pondclaw eagerly awaited the day that she would become Pondstar, ruler of PondClan. Though the other cats, besides Quailpaw, weren't as enthusiastic as she, she felt that it would be a break for everyone to get away from StarClan.

_This could be a whole new era, a new Clan that can defend themselves without the help of a bunch of dead cats. _Pondclaw sneered as she thought happily about her future in PondClan.

She thought about Quailpaw, how he was so willing to cling onto her fur like a kit. He was desperately in love with her, and Pondclaw had promised him the spot of deputy. She sort of regretted telling him that, but it wouldn't matter. He'd get ripped to shreds by a Tribe cat or be abducted by an eagle or something of the sort.

Berryfrost was a real prize. His fur was smooth and sleek, and he bounded with energy greater than three cats. He would produce great offspring, but he was enamored with Shiningsky, who was duller than ever now that Lionpaw was gone.

_It was pretty much her fault. Nothing has changed since Darkpaw became medicine cat, anyway. _Pondclaw thought to herself. _I'll just keep trying._

With a grin, she strolled out of the warriors den and saw Willowleaf organizing a patrol.

"Border patrols are unnecessary now, so we'll take a hunting patrol. Raggedwing, Lightheart, come with me. And take Quailpaw." Willowleaf instructed. Raggedwing's wound was healed now, thanks to Darkpaw.

The three cats assembled and followed the deputy out of camp. Pondclaw watched Quailpaw as he moved without being her shadow. He was clumsy, weak, a bad hunter. He had no desirable qualities, except that he was a fantastic follower. He never questioned Pondclaw and always knew what to do when she called him.

_I suppose I can be grateful for that. _Pondclaw thought as they disappeared into the forest. Her ears twitched and her eyes flickered to the fresh-kill pile. It was of decent size, even though the hunting parties were so small. There were hardly any cats left in ThunderClan, so the need for food was lower than ever.

"Tomorrow is the half-moon already…" Pondclaw turned to hear Darkpaw speaking to Deadpath at the medicine cat's den. She was treating a thorn stuck in his paw, and he didn't seem very happy about being near the dark colored she-cat.

"Yeah, what of it?" Deadpath grunted.

"The medicine cat meetings usually took place then, but Midnightstar confined Cloudheart to their camp." Darkpaw replied, applying marigold to Deadpath's paw. The bloodied thorn lay nearby.

"Oh," Deadpath said simply. "Do you know where Berryfrost is?"

_Ah, right. Berryfrost is friends with the RiverClan cat. I don't think he's too fond of me, which is why I don't want him in the new Clan. But if Berryfrost insists on him, I have no choice. I have to play to Berryfrost's good side. _Pondclaw debated internally.

"I don't know, but don't walk too hard on that paw when looking for him!" Darkpaw tried to joke as she finished applying cobwebs, but Deadpath just shrugged and walked off, purposely stepping down harder on his injured paw. Darkpaw sighed lightly, but Pondclaw heard it. She padded over to the medicine cat and limped on one leg like it was injured.

"Darkpaw, my leg is really aching, do you have anything for that?" Pondclaw asked, pouting.

"Let me see." Darkpaw grumbled, looking over her leg and prodding it. Pondclaw made appropriate painful sounds as she poked her.

As Darkpaw looked through the herb piles, Pondclaw spoke.

"Is StarClan telling you anything important about the Dark Forest?" She asked, fiddling with her so-called injured leg.

"Yes, we're doing everything we can." Darkpaw replied shortly, and picked up a few herbs in her mouth.

"But is everything enough? Can StarClan really get rid of such a powerful force?" Pondclaw questioned, inching closer.

"Is your leg even injured?" Darkpaw accused, dropping the herbs to speak. "If you have no medical business, leave my den."

"Oh but I have business with you, Darkpaw. Your skills will help the new Clan thrive. Why won't you join us?" Pondclaw almost hissed, but kept calm.

"I trust StarClan, and if you can't do that, you'll never be a true Clan cat!" Darkpaw spat, "Get out of my den!"

Pondclaw huffed and left, mimicking Deadpath's actions of his injured paw. She stomped on the ground and walked outside of camp. A leaf fell and rested near her paws; she crushed it with her claws and kept walking.

_Tomorrow, PondClan will rise. _Pondclaw's grin grew wide as she stepped across the forest floor, knowing that she would rule only the following night.

* * *

The next night, Pondclaw sat impatiently as the camp guard. She had made sure that she would be the one to guard the camp, in order to escape cleanly. Quailpaw had managed to keep Tigerkit and Flamekit quiet as he led them out of the nursery without waking Flowerbelly. The two kits could hardly contain their excitement and they bounced around like rabbits.

"You have to be quiet, kits." Quailpaw whispered, "If you don't stay quiet, we won't be able to be PondClan!"

The two kits quieted down and huddled around the brown spotted apprentice. Moments later Berryfrost and Shiningsky emerged from the warrior's den. They had to creep past the sleeping warriors, and did so successfully.

"This is it from ThunderClan?" Pondclaw said in a hush, and Quailpaw nodded.

"Deadpath and Darkpaw refused to come." He reported. Berryfrost and Shiningsky glanced at each other awkwardly.

"Then let's go. Quailpaw, lead our patrol to the ShadowClan border and meet with Shadefur, Lilykit, and Coldpaw. I'll be behind you in a moment. Make sure everyone is prepared to run." Pondclaw instructed. Quailpaw paled.

"Run? But why?" He asked, but Pondclaw struck his question down with a glare.

"No questions, do as I say." She commanded, and the feeble apprentice nodded. He rounded up the ThunderClan cats and headed for the border. Shiningsky took one last look at the camp she called home for so long, but Berryfrost nudged her gaze away. He showed her his sad smile, and she gave one back. The two walked together behind Quailpaw, with Flamekit and Tigerkit at their heels.

Pondclaw padded after them softly, until she could see the ShadowClan border. Shadefur and her two kits were waiting there; the queen's eyes were darting nervously around. Pondclaw decided to head back.

She padded loudly into camp and stood near the entrance before yowling so all ThunderClan cats could hear: "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, wake up!"

Cats drowsily arose from their dens with arguments of the time of night. The half-moon shown in the night sky, and the stars of Silverpelt seemed dim.

"Pondclaw?" The voice was Raggedwing's, "What are you doing? You've woken up the whole Clan!"

Deadpath was the second to notice her, and he growled menacingly at her presence. "This can't be good."

The remaining warriors, Lightheart, Hornetflight, Willowleaf, and Spottedface, peered out of the den to check out the problem.

"Pondclaw, what's the matter?" Spottedface blinked, unsure why she was woken up so late.

Stormstar and Darkpaw gathered, and neither spoke a word. Stormstar only stared at Pondclaw, and she stared back. No one made another move until there was a scream from the nursery.

"My kits! Where are Flamekit and Tigerkit?" Flowerbelly screeched, running out of the nursery entrance.

"Hey, where are Berryfrost and Shiningsky?"

"Quailpaw is gone too…"

Darkpaw felt her heart drop into her stomach. _Shiningsky left… for Pondclaw's new clan…_

"Cats of ThunderClan!" Pondclaw shouted, "We have decided to leave this cursed lake for a better life, under skies where StarClan does not dwell! Where StarClan does not exist, the Dark Forest is sure to not exist either!"

"What?" Deadpath hissed, moving closer to the traitor. "How dare you…"

"Halt!" Stormstar growled, getting ahead of Deadpath. "Is this really what you want, Pondclaw? Is this really what the cats you have forced to follow you want?"

"No one forced anyone to do anything, Stormstar. They all came out of their own free will." Pondclaw added icily. "We'll be leaving, and we expect none of you to come into our territory. No Clan cat must ever come to the mountains unless they have their heart set on joining PondClan."

"The mountains? But the Tribe lives there!" Lightheart pointed out.

"Does that matter? Now, so long." Pondclaw finished, and quickly turned tail and fled. Deadpath and Darkpaw had their fur bristling, neither liking the turn of events.

Spottedface went over to Flowerbelly to calm her down.

"All of my kits… even Pondclaw… they're all gone!" Flowerbelly sobbed.

"Only Scorchwind is gone forever, Flowerbelly, and he has an important role up in StarClan now. You should be proud of him. Be proud of Flamekit and Tigerkit too." Spottedface soothed her.

Darkpaw walked up to Deadpath and glared at him.

"Are you going to do something about this?" She demanded, and the RiverClan warrior stared down at her angrily.

"I'm going to stop this and get rid of the problem at its core." Deadpath insisted, and ran off towards the ShadowClan border.

"Wait! Deadpath!" Darkpaw called out with surprise as the older cat darted away. _He's going to kill Pondclaw! _She thought with sudden realization, and hurried after him.

Pondclaw arrived at the border, and all cats were present.

"Ready to run? Let's move." Pondclaw panted, and sprinted back into ThunderClan territory, close to the lake's border.

"Pondclaw, wait! Ah, let's go!" Quailpaw ran after her, and the other cats followed. Shadefur carried Lilykit, and Berryfrost and Shiningsky carried Flamekit and Tigerkit.

"I can carry myself!" Tigerkit squealed, but Shiningsky kept a firm grip on his scruff as they ran.

Pondclaw ran along the border of the lake in ThunderClan's territory to the WindClan border. Deadpath or any other cat would head there, where she had told them she would be going.

But Deadpath, in his rage, chose to follow Pondclaw the long way. Darkpaw saw his error and went to the WindClan border, and saw blurs moving along the lake border. She ran to stop them.

"Pondclaw!" Darkpaw growled as the blurs approached. Pondclaw noticed the apprentice blocking her path, and with a smirk, pushed her out of the way and ran past her. Darkpaw stumbled into the water and gasped as she scrambled back to the sand. The other blurs were too far behind Pondclaw to see what had transpired.

_If Deadpath had shown up, I would have killed him. But I guess he isn't coming. _Pondclaw thought nonchalantly, and decreased her pace to look back at her Clan.

Quailpaw had a shocked look on his face as he saw his sister wet and furious. However he only slowed down, he didn't stop. He ran past her, looking away. Next came Shadefur and her two kits, who didn't give Darkpaw a second glance. Berryfrost and Shiningsky came to a stop at Darkpaw.

"Darkpaw!" Berryfrost gasped, and Darkpaw glared at him. She looked over to Shiningsky, who had a horrified expression.

"Shiningsky… why would you join them?" Darkpaw demanded, but her sister only looked at her paws. "Berryfrost, why would you let her?"

"Pondclaw… Pondclaw isn't a bad cat. She just wants the best for us, to not be under StarClan's skies." Berryfrost mumbled.

"Pondclaw is a bad cat! She's turning all of you against StarClan!" Darkpaw hissed. Berryfrost looked past her at the fading PondClan cats in the distance. He nudged Shiningsky and began to run past Darkpaw. "Don't you run away!"

Shiningsky stared after him desperately, and began to follow. Darkpaw blocked her path.

"Are you really going to leave, sister?" Darkpaw questioned, a fierce fire in her eyes. Shiningsky broke her gaze and ran. Darkpaw stared after her in anguish, and started to walk back to ThunderClan camp.

* * *

At the edge of the mountains, Pondclaw stopped to face her Clan.

"Cats of PondClan, we'll settle just past here." Pondclaw announced, surveying the faces of the cats that would be with her.

Shadefur was looking at Lilykit, keeping her nearby, who was looking at Coldpaw for a chance to play. Coldpaw was looking at Flamekit and Tigerkit, who were with Berryfrost and Shiningsky. Berryfrost looked at Shiningsky, who was looking at her feet. Quailpaw was the only one really looking at Pondclaw.

"Anyway… let's go." She growled, and walked through the rocky slopes. The Clan followed.

"We won't go too far in, we're not in a state to fight with the Tribe." Pondclaw confirmed, and they walked until they came across an alcove in the rocks. There seemed to be a tiny cave there, along with rocks acting as cliffs hanging over the ground below. The cats headed there.

Quailpaw surveyed the area and grinned. "This place looks great! What do you think, Pondclaw?"

"It looks alright for now. We're far enough into the mountains to not be cursed by StarClan." She spat, and made to explore the niches.

Berryfrost stayed close to Shiningsky, hoping she wouldn't break down. It wasn't like her to show her emotions outright, but he wanted to make sure.

Shiningsky felt Berryfrost brush against her pelt, and was oddly calmed. _But I don't love Berryfrost. _She sighed, which led to Berryfrost saying, "Let's explore, it might cheer us up."

His careful use of 'us' let them explore like the others.

"I'm gonna sleep right here!" Flamekit announced, finding a clear spot under an overhang.

"Nuh-uh, I am!" Tigerkit pushed his sister out of the way.

"Don't hurt yourselves; we're not on soft ground like by the lake now!" Shadefur warned. "Do you think there's any grass around here to gather?"

"Possibly." Pondclaw decided, "I'll go exploring with Berryfrost and Quailpaw to find grass around our new territory." Shiningsky sank to the ground at this news, knowing she'd have nothing to do.

"Pondclaw, how are you going to become Pondstar without the Moonpool?" Lilykit asked innocently from Shadefur's side. Pondclaw blinked at the tiny kit, and realized she had a good point.

"She'll find a way, Lilykit." Shadefur nudged her kit towards the playing Flamekit and Tigerkit. Pondclaw gave an approving nod to the queen and gathered her patrol. The three cats left the spot in the rocks and went further into the mountains.

Berryfrost and Quailpaw stayed far apart from each other, while Pondclaw led. Suddenly the patrol stopped as the scent of a Tribe cat wafted through the air.

"It's only one cat, we can take him on." Pondclaw growled, and they waited for the Tribe cat to emerge.

It was a black furred tom, thick muscled and calm. His eyes were bright green, and Pondclaw stared at them until he turned towards her. The foreigner approached the small patrol.

"Who are you? You're not from the tribe." He demanded.

"My name is Pondclaw, and this is Berryfrost and Quailpaw." Pondclaw introduced.

"Oh, Clan cats. Why are you not by the lake?"

"We don't follow StarClan anymore." Pondclaw insisted. Berryfrost felt empty as she said it.

"Well, I don't follow the Tribe of Endless Hunting either." The cat shrugged. "I'm Night That Falls Swiftly, call me Night. I was exiled for my beliefs."

"Oh, you'll fit in perfectly with us then!" Pondclaw purred, stepping closer to the stranger. Quailpaw felt his fur rise; he didn't trust the dark tom. Berryfrost had no opinion of him.

"I'm sure I will, Pondclaw." Night purred back.

"Do you happen to know where to find nesting material around here?" Berryfrost interrupted, and Night nodded.

"Follow me, I know a great place not too far into the Tribe's territory. We can jump in and leave before they spot us." Night said, and he led the patrol next to Pondclaw, much to Quailpaw's dislike.

"Who does he think he is?" Quailpaw spat, walking next to Berryfrost now.

"What do you mean?" Berryfrost asked, his whiskers twitching.

"He just waltzed right over and Pondclaw is already fond of him!" The apprentice moaned. Berryfrost held back laughter as he realized that Quailpaw was jealous of the attention.

"He's helping us out, so be grateful." Berryfrost offered, but Quailpaw said no more. The four cats entered the foreign territory, grabbed mouthfuls of soft grass that seemed to grow out of nowhere, and rushed back to PondClan territory. Not a single Tribe Cat found them, or got anywhere close, for that matter.

"Thank you, Night. Would you like to stay with us?" Pondclaw offered as they dropped their grasses on the ground. Berryfrost and Shiningsky began piling the grass up into nests.

"I'd be happy to. This group has a lot of potential." Night said smoothly.

_Potential, huh. _Pondclaw wasn't sure if he was buttering her up or telling the truth, but it didn't matter to her. Berryfrost was out of the picture now that Night was present. His build was perfect and his attitude wasn't bad either. She had a feeling he'd fit in just fine.

* * *

**Longest chapter yet. Sorry if the next update takes a while :x**


	12. Chapter 11: Moonlight Double

**Sorry that the update took a while D: I've been focused on a co-author project for Warriors, but I realized I need to continue this too (thanks Puppy!) so here's Chapter 11!**

**Thanks to ALL reviewers!**

**

* * *

**Deadpath seemed to darken the mood further as he stormed back into ThunderClan camp. He had lost the trail of PondClan's cats, and was surprised as he met Darkpaw on the way back.

"Did you find them?" He grunted.

"Yes." Darkpaw said simply. Her expression was cold, and Deadpath felt odd around her for once. He had disliked her for being nosy about his life in RiverClan, but he felt a certain bond with her now. They had both lost their friends to Pondclaw.

"I'm… I'm sorry that Shiningsky decided to go with them. Berryfrost likes her, he should have done something…" Deadpath muttered. To his shock, Darkpaw sprang up with her eyes wide.

"That's exactly what I said to him! But he just ignored me!" She hissed. "He's pretty set on PondClan's ways."

Deadpath bent his head and they entered camp. All eyes of the Clan were open and on them. But they said nothing to them. Darkpaw slunk into her den and Deadpath went to his.

The ex-RiverClan warrior tried to ignore the sniffling Flowerbelly in the warrior's den but it was hard to do so. The atmosphere of the camp was worse than ever now, and ThunderClan's numbers were dangerously low. _Something must be done._ He thought as he allowed himself to drift away to sleep.

His eyes opened slightly and saw a rapidly flowing river right before him. Deadpath jumped back in surprise.

"This isn't ThunderClan!" He gasped, and a figure appeared in front of him across the river. "Hello?" He called out.

The cat stared at Deadpath blankly.

"Deadpaw?" The cat questioned.

"It's… it's Deadpath now, Marshstar." Deadpath mumbled. The RiverClan leader showed visible surprise.

"But, you couldn't have gotten your warrior name! You're still alive, and RiverClan is not!" Marshstar gasped.

"Yes, I'm still alive. But I'll only be dead to you." Deadpath growled. He started to walk away from the raging river.

"Wait! My kit!" Marshstar called, her fur ruffled in annoyance. "_Sprang from water, sprang from heart, if so the days ahead are dark. Sprang from darkness, aimed much higher, and then the days won't be so dire._" The dark she-cat's voice faded, and Deadpath found himself being prodded awake by Lightheart.

"Time for a hunting patrol, Deadpath." Lightheart mumbled, and then left him to his thoughts.

* * *

"Wait for it…" Night said calmly, eyeing the falcon that was soaring ahead. "Just wait in the shadows, and don't move."

The falcon circled overhead and eventually lowered. A plump rabbit had somehow perched itself on a nearby rock, and was practically begging to be caught. The falcon dove for it.

"Now!" Night whispered, and Pondclaw darted out from the shade of the overhang and landed on the falcon as it sank its talons into its prey. The rabbit scrambled as blood spilled from its fur, but it went limp. The falcon shrieked and tried to knock Pondclaw away, but Pondclaw delivered a quick bite to its neck, and all three creatures fell to the rocks. But only the cat survived.

"Nice catch!" Night purred, "And you only saw me do it once!" Pondclaw basked in his praise.

"It's a very clever technique." Pondclaw insisted. "It would be foolish of me not to learn it quickly."

"I suppose so." Night grinned, stepping closer to Pondclaw.

"We better go teach the others how to hunt like you." Pondclaw said smoothly.

"You mean how to hunt like _us_." Night corrected with laughter. The two reunited with the rest of the hunting patrol. Berryfrost and Quailpaw had come up with three mice, while Night and Pondclaw had caught two falcons and two rabbits. Quailpaw's jaw dropped as he saw their catches.

"Wow, how did you get the falcons?" He asked Pondclaw in awe. _Pondclaw is amazing! _Quailpaw thought happily.

"Night showed me a Tribe hunting technique, and we're going to teach it to everyone." Pondclaw replied, and Quailpaw's mood went south. _Of course, Night is the amazing one. _He thought scornfully.

"It's important to learn when hunting in the mountains." Night insisted. "Let's get back to the Clan."

"Seems great, I can't wait to show it off to Shiningsky." Berryfrost joked.

"You'll have to learn it first." Night laughed in response. Berryfrost smiled, Night didn't seem so bad. Quailpaw only uttered a low growl.

"Quailpaw, show some manners." Pondclaw hissed, and the apprentice ducked his head in embarrassment. _Oh, she heard me!_

Night and Berryfrost made polite chit-chat as they walked back to PondClan camp. Quailpaw faced Pondclaw with a new determination.

"When can I be deputy, Pondclaw?" He asked, hoping she would hurry it up. The sooner he was deputy, the sooner Night could be out of the picture. He wasn't even a warrior yet!

"You haven't finished your training yet, Quailpaw, and I am not Pondstar yet." Pondclaw reminded. "How about I teach you Night's technique right now?" _That'll shut him up for a while._

"Oh, alright. That'll further my training, right?" Quailpaw prompted, but Pondclaw didn't respond. She retreated back to the shady rock overhang where she and Night had stood.

"You have to stay very still once you spot prey. If you're lucky, a large bird will spot the prey instead of you, and once it goes in for the kill, you pounce." Pondclaw instructed. _But if _I'm _lucky, it'll go for you instead._

"Okay!" Quailpaw said excitedly, and willed himself to stay still in wait of a bird of prey.

"I'll head back to camp, you come back when you catch something, alright?" Pondclaw sounded weary, and Quailpaw reluctantly let her leave. He watched her as she trotted off back to PondClan camp, back to Night and Berryfrost. He felt a spike of jealousy in him, but tried to shake it away.

_Berryfrost already has Shiningsky, and Night… Pondclaw only just met him! We've known each other forever, she can't just ignore my feelings!_

He awaited prey patiently, hoping Pondclaw would praise him, _knowing _Pondclaw would praise him, and with new hope in his heart.

* * *

"So just wait, Shiningsky, I'll master the technique and show it to you!" Berryfrost said happily to the unhappy she-cat. Shiningsky tried to smile back at him.

"I'll look forward to it." She replied.

"Good, since it's gonna be great!" Berryfrost grinned. "It'll cheer you right up!"

"Okay." Shiningsky mumbled.

Night was explaining the hunting technique to Shadefur, who was listening intently. Flamekit and Tigerkit were listening also, but Lilykit was surrounding herself in her mother's fur, her brow furrowed. She didn't care too much about what Night was saying.

Coldpaw was somewhat listening, but seemed to be more interested at a crack on the rocks where weeds were growing.

Pondclaw strolled into camp and picked a high point under the overhang where rocks jutted out to stand.

"Cats of PondClan! Lend me your ears!" She yowled, and cats stopped what they were doing to look up.

"Night is doing well to teach us Clan cats the ways of the mountain, and I would like to invite him to become a full warrior of PondClan." Pondclaw started. "Night?"

"I would be honored, Pondclaw. You have a respectable Clan put together here for the circumstances." Night chuckled. "I would like to keep my name, though."

"Of course, Night. By my powers as leader of this group, I hereby call you as a full warrior of PondClan. Night!" Pondclaw prompted a chant, and the other cats joined in.

"Thank you, thank you. I will ask though, where's Quailpaw?" Night brought up. Pondclaw shrugged, "He's practicing your hunting technique, Night. See how you have influenced our Clan so well?" She purred.

The Clan dispersed and Night talked with Pondclaw some more.

"I sense some cats are worried about your leadership. You do not have the 'star' suffix yet, so they do not think you fit to be leader." Night murmured.

"But are you worried, Night?" Pondclaw questioned.

"Of course not. I can see you're a fine leader." Night purred. However Night brought up the same problem Lilykit had. Pondclaw figured that in order to be truly accepted among the Clan cats, she would have to become Pondstar. But without the aid of StarClan, that was not going to happen.

"I think I'm going to rest for a while." She mumbled, and Night nodded. She headed towards the makeshift den she had made for herself out of grasses and feathers from the falcon she had caught. She made herself comfortable and then fell asleep.

Her eyes snapped open as she felt pain like no other. It felt as if spines were jabbing themselves at every angle into Pondclaw's skin. She hissed in pain but it only made it worse. With a tearful movement, she looked up to see a looming ginger figure above her.

"Scorchwind?" She managed to ask, and he nodded. His face was grave.

"_Sprang from water, sprang from heart, if so the days ahead are dark. Sprang from darkness, aimed much higher, and then the days won't be so dire._" Scorchwind warned, and faded from view.

"Scorchwind, wait! Tell me what that means!" Pondclaw yowled with all of her energy, but the background faded. The pain began to lift, and she found herself in a dense wood where bats flew overhead. The moon was a faint and pale light behind dark clouds.

With the pain gone, she stretched and took a walk around. _Where am I?_

As if to answer her question, a cat who looked similar to herself dropped from the trees. Her silver fur gleamed even though no light hit it.

"You are in the Dark Forest, Pondclaw." The cat grinned.

"What? That's not possible! I'm in the mountains!" Pondclaw gasped. "I must be making this up…"

"No, you are not." The cat hissed. "My name is Ivyleap. I will grant you the wish that Scorchwind could not. Pondclaw, do you wish to become leader of your Clan officially?"

"Of… of course…" Pondclaw growled. "What fool do you take me for?"

"I do not mock you, Pondclaw, I am only confirming. After all, we are in different grounds here. Are you in pain?"

"No. Not at the moment, anyway. I felt like I was dying a moment ago." Pondclaw revealed. Ivyleap's teeth showed as she grinned like a hyena. The two silver and white cats' fur shown in the pale moonlight, even through the dense clouds.

"Good. Would you be interested in helping me, Pondclaw? If you promise to help me, I'll give you the name you desire." Ivyleap approached her moonlight double.

"Can you really do such a thing?" Pondclaw inquired, and Ivyleap nodded.

"I would not lie to a comrade." Ivyleap replied.

"Very well. Your offer?" She prompted.

"You and your Clan will distract the other two Clans in an attack, which will give us the upper edge."

"Who is 'us', in this case?" Pondclaw growled.

"Why, me, you, and the rest of the Dark Forest." Ivyleap pretended to be surprised. "You're part of this world now, which is why you can be here. Before, when you felt like you were being skinned alive, you were in StarClan's grounds, where it hurts to even blink for us."

Pondclaw was shocked. She had started PondClan to rid herself of the Dark Forest, but it seemed as if these menacing cats were accepting her as one of their own. She gulped back any remaining fear she had and stood tall against Ivyleap.

"And what will you do while PondClan attacks the remaining two Clans of the lake?"

"Why, we'll steal away as many cats as we can in preparation with our battle with StarClan." Ivyleap said brightly. "We'll fight at the Great Border, where the Dark Forest meets the grasses of StarClan. There we are not so badly affected."

Pondclaw blinked. "Scorchwind gave me a prophecy- "

"Oh, prophecies, prophecies, prophecies. If you choose to follow them, that is your choice and no one else's. StarClan cannot force the prophecies to come true, only you can."

"Do you know of it?"

"Of course. But that doesn't matter, do you accept the offer?" Ivyleap seemed annoyed now.

"Ah, yes. PondClan shall attack the other two." Pondclaw admitted. Ivyleap's frown curled up to a smile and straightened herself as tall as possible.

"Pondclaw, are you ready to accept the responsibilities of a Clan leader and everything that goes with being one?"

"Yes." Pondclaw's voice only wavered slightly.

"By the powers invested in me by the Dark Forest, I grant you your nine lives." Ivyleap's face grew crazed for a brief moment before she touched noses with Pondclaw.

"Courage." The voice didn't seem to come from Ivyleap's throat. A dark shadow dashed madly through the trees and headed straight for Pondclaw. However, the cat in question could not move even a whisker as the spirit crashed into her skull. Pondclaw wanted to double over in pain and cradle herself, but she was locked in place. She howled in agony before Ivyleap drew her nose away. Pondclaw hardly had time to recover before Ivyleap put her nose to her own again.

"Justice." Another voice came through the trees as a swift spirit collided with her head again. Pondclaw's head pounded and she panted.

"Loyalty." A clear voice rang in the shadowy grove as a white cat moved through the trees. She was clearly visible, and Pondclaw braced for impact, but as the spirit glided towards her, she went through her forehead slowly, and Pondclaw felt only light pain.

"Energy." A cat that sped quicker than any other dashed at Pondclaw at full force. Pondclaw was almost knocked off of her feet by the energy that coursed through her veins now, but Ivyleap kept a firm grip on her.

"Protection." A squeaky voice emerged from the wood and barreled into Pondclaw's paws. The kit passed through her, and surprisingly Pondclaw felt more pain than ever. The kit seemed to fill Pondclaw of the emotions of the moment when it was stolen away from its mother.

"Mentoring." A young cat mewed and a spirit passed by Pondclaw once more. Pondclaw felt more agony as the cat remembered when it was stolen away with his mentor only tail lengths away.

"Compassion." The voice of a quiet she-cat almost passed Pondclaw's ears, and she felt a wave of feelings crash down upon her.

"Love." A sand colored she-cat's voice was painful to hear as she rushed through Pondclaw. Pondclaw felt softened immediately by the life bestowed upon her. The life of love brought images to her mind. Thoughts of Night and Quailpaw flickered by, and even Berryfrost, but in the end no cat remained in her thoughts.

"Nobility." At last, Ivyleap raised her nose from Pondclaw's brow and rushed at her full force. Pondclaw expected to be knocked over, but Ivyleap disappeared as her insides grew cold. After the chill, she yowled in pain and fell to the ground. The last life was powerful, and Ivyleap's thoughts raced by her. Pondclaw couldn't seem to grab on to any one thought, and at last all was calm.

The nine voices joined and said, "Pondclaw, we call you by your new name, Pondstar. Now be gone, and do not forget the task ahead…"

Pondstar felt dizzy as the dense forest faded around her, and all became black.

The deed had to be done, or something unimaginable could happen.

**Again, sorry for the delay, and remember to review.**


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